Elliot Page is reportedly narrating a new documentary examining same-sex interactions and so-called “gender fluidity” within the animal world. The transgender actor says she hopes the film exploring gay animal sex, Second Nature, will make queer kids feel less alone.
“There are approximately 8.7 million living animal species on Earth. For centuries, we have been told that when it comes to gender and sexuality, all these millions of species follow a certain set of rules,” Page says in a teaser for the new documentary.
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“But what if this narrative fails to capture the full spectrum of life’s diversity?” the Juno star adds. “There is endless diversity in nature, and the old stories we’ve been taught deserve a second look.”
Page, as well as director and filmmaker Drew Denny, say they hope Second Nature will help challenge allegedly long-held myths about what is “natural,” according to a report by People.
“To have this real, thorough investigatory piece about the reality of this information, the reality of what has been left out and what we’ve not been taught,” Page, who is also a co-producer of the film, told the magazine.
“And I think that sense of growing up as a queer kid and feeling alone — you’re carrying these bricks of shame, and there’s such implications and consequences in terms of censorship and erasure,” the Hard Candy star added.
Meanwhile, Denny, who identifies as “queer,” echoed Page’s sentiments, telling People she didn’t know “how badly” she needed to learn about “queerness in nature, matriarchal lesbian bonobos, sex-changing fish, and gender-queer chimps” until she read the 2004 book, Evolution’s Rainbow, by ecologist and evolutionary biologist Joan Roughgarden.
“It’s what flipped the switch finally to being like, ‘Oh, like, there isn’t anything wrong with me,’” Denny said, adding that Roughgarden’s work made her “finally” feel like “I get to be here. Like, I belong on Earth. No one can kick me out because of this.”
The filmmaker went on to say that she hopes the documentary can do the same for others, “Because if I needed this feeling, it means somebody else needs the feeling, too.”
“It’s just beautifully made,” Page said of Second Nature. “It’s entertaining. It’s funny. It’s gonna captivate you, and it’s just such incredible, incredibly valuable information. No matter who you are, no matter how you identify.”
The Umbrella Academy star added that the film is “also the ripple effect of conversation that comes from watching this.”
“What are the impacts of censorship and what are the impacts of censorship on art and science, and all facets of our society?” Page asked.
The documentary features “scientists who have spent their lives researching the over 1,500 animal species that engage in same-sex sexual behavior and parenting, change sex, and form matriarchies in the wild,” People reported.
Second Nature — which has already screened at the South by Southwest (SXSW) and Reel Wild film festivals — will be shown in Los Angeles theaters on May 24, and in New York theaters on June 26.
Alana Mastrangelo is a reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on Facebook and X at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.
