TL;DR
- Elliot Page’s documentary explores queerness in nature.
- Challenges traditional gender and sexuality norms.
- Features diverse animal behaviors like same-sex parenting.
- Critiques the historical bias in scientific observation.
- Highlights the importance of this knowledge for LGBTQ+ youth.
For generations, many of us have been fed the idea that biology is black and white: male and female, dominant and submissive, heterosexual and reproductive. But Elliot Page is here to shake things up with his latest documentary, Second Nature. This visually stunning and unexpectedly hilarious film takes us on a wild ride through the animal kingdom, showing us that queerness isn’t just an anomaly—it’s a fundamental part of life on Earth.
From same-sex parenting penguins to clownfish that change sex, Second Nature reveals a world where rigid binaries dissolve. Page, who narrates and executive-produces the film, urges viewers to reconsider everything they’ve been taught about gender and sexuality. “What if this narrative fails to capture the full spectrum of life’s diversity?” he asks, and honestly, who could argue with that?
As the film rolls out, it arrives at a crucial moment when the term ‘biology’ has been weaponized in American politics. Conservative lawmakers have been using biological essentialism to justify harmful restrictions on transgender rights, from healthcare to bathroom access. Page’s documentary counters this narrative with a rich tapestry of evolutionary biology, wildlife footage, and personal storytelling that challenges the status quo.
At the heart of Second Nature is Dr. Joan Roughgarden, a trans evolutionary biologist whose groundbreaking work has been pivotal in debunking the myth of the male-female gender binary. “Biology, nature abhors a category,” she boldly states in the film, and honestly, who needs categories anyway? The documentary stitches together archival footage, contemporary wildlife cinematography, and interviews with researchers, creating something that feels less like a boring classroom lecture and more like a queer science road movie.
In an interview, Page reflected on how the project affected him emotionally before he even stepped into the recording booth. “I learned so much that I felt silly for not actually thinking [it] to be the obvious truth before,” he said. And that sense of affirmation is palpable throughout the film, which is not just for queer audiences but also a pointed critique of how science has historically been filtered through the lens of patriarchy and cultural bias.
Throughout the documentary, we see a recurring theme: generations of scientists have observed sexual diversity in nature but often dismissed or minimized these findings because they contradicted prevailing assumptions about gender and reproduction. One scientist even describes homosexuality in animals as “one of the best-kept secrets” in biology. Can you believe it? The film playfully tackles these serious topics, discussing everything from duck genitalia evolution to the hilarity of “penis fencing” bonobos.
As Page and Denny explore the animal kingdom, they reveal that nature is not organized around the moral certainties humans project onto it. In bonobo societies, females form cooperative alliances and dominate males. Male seahorses carry pregnancies, and fish routinely change sex. The documentary makes it clear: nature is a wild, beautiful mess, and that’s exactly how it should be.
Page sees the film as a direct response to the growing backlash against transgender people. “I’d love for people to sit with just sort of the level of indoctrination that’s gotten you so stuck to these views that actually just simply aren’t factually true,” he says. The suppression of scientific information has real-world consequences, especially for LGBTQ+ youth. Denny emphasizes that research cited in the film has been linked to reductions in self-harm and suicide among queer young people.
As we dive into Second Nature, we are reminded that the fear of uncertainty is what drives many to cling to binary systems. But nature itself has never shared that fear. So, let’s embrace the chaos, the beauty, and the diversity of life. Because in the end, queerness is not just natural—it’s essential. Watch the trailer for Second Nature below and prepare to have your mind blown.