Pollution, Monstrosity, and Embodiment – A Visit from Wibke Straube

Wibke is an associate professor and lecturer in . Their research explores trans and non-binary cultural production and livability in times of ecological crisis. 

Wibke’s visit began with an event where the WEIRD team got together with students to explore queer and crip perspectives on sustainability. During their talk, Wibke discussed how trans and neurodivergent bodies are often framed as outcomes of chemical contamination. More specifically, certain harmful chemicals, such as EDCs and PFAS, are frequently claimed to be the cause of being trans allegedly leading to gender dysphoria. Similar arguments have also been used in relation to autistic and other neurodivergent bodies. 

This captivating presentation also introduced art from and . The event left participants with a question: what if, instead of focusing on cure, we explored ways of living with polluted metabolisms? 

On the following day, Wibke led a two-part workshop for the WEIRD team. The first part was a workshop on monstrosity, which offered a space to explore the experiential, imaginative, political, and methodological implications of the “monster” in both research and lived experience. Working with texts by Callum Angus, Susan Stryker, and Jasper Verlinden, each participant focused on a passage that resonated with them and shared their reflections with the group. The discussion that unfolded was deep and layered, moving between personal perspectives and theoretical analysis. Monstrosity emerged not only as a figure of abjection, but also as a lens for questioning norms, knowledge production, and the boundaries of the human. 

As Wibke also works with norm-critical didactics and writing methodologies, we devoted the afternoon to autoethnographic and creative writing, featuring a contribution by Luca Tainio, Adjunct Lecturer from Karlstad University/Doctoral Researcher in the University of Helsinki. 

Using the “Floating Pen” and “Unruly Poem” methods, participants wrote continuously for ten minutes, following associations without pause or self-censorship. From these texts, we developed short poems and shared them aloud. The exercise emphasized presence and situatedness, inviting us to acknowledge how our embodied experiences shape our research and how creative methods can open different ways of knowing. 

This article was written by the PI of the WEIRD project Guido Caniglia and Research Assistant Helena Kärppä.