Patricia Kaishian Spoke on advaya’s Podcast Series “REBIRTH” about Mycology, Queer Identity, and Mutualism

“What I found in mushrooms was this way of being that kind of slipped through the airspace in the soil; it was a way of being multiple things at once,” said Patricia Kaishian, visiting assistant professor of biology, on “REBIRTH,” an advaya podcast series. As early as graduate school, Kaishian found connections between the study of mycology and Queer theory. “I found it really fascinating why people were so confused and repulsed by the organisms that I had found this type of unique companionship with,” she said. “A lot at first was about the negativity, was about this rejection and this pathologization, and this way of viewing fungi as these disordered or, diseased, deadly, degenerate creatures, which are, of course, concepts and identifiers that have been leveraged against Queer people, against disabled people, against people of color, women, etc.” Mutualism was also a concept shared across mycology and Queer studies, which both place “an emphasis on the communal—you are your community; which is, obviously, this idea that was articulated in the context of survivors, like surviving, but also one that promises joy and promises beauty, and desire and pleasure and all of these things.”

Post Date: 06-13-2023