Stuff To Blow Your Mind From the Vault: The Queerness of Nature, with Patricia Ononiwu Kaishian
Mar 31, 2026
Patricia Kashian, mycologist and author of Forest Euphoria, blends fungal biology with queer theory. She talks about queer ecology, non-binary reproduction, and how symbiosis reshapes ideas of individuality. Discussions range from overlooked mycology and cassowary anatomy to cordyceps reality versus fiction. She also offers practices like sit spots to deepen belonging with nature.
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Queer Ecology Shows Nonbinary Biology Is Common
- Queer ecology reframes non-binary reproductive strategies as widespread, not exceptional.
- Patricia Kashian uses fungi and animals to show many species have multiple sexes, same-sex behaviors, or asexual lineages, challenging 'it's not natural' claims.
Scientific Categories Can Hide Biological Complexity
- Scientific categories like 'individual' or strict sexual binaries can obscure real organismal complexity.
- Kashian argues taxonomy and Western philosophy sometimes force rigid boxes that misrepresent symbiotic webs and fungal bodies.
Reflecting On Identity Improves Scientific Objectivity
- Considering culture and identity in science can increase objectivity by exposing bias, not reduce it.
- Kashian points to Linnaeus's subjective descriptions of fungi as evidence that 'pure' objectivity is mythic.
