Hyphae Networks of Queer Love Erasing Binaries and Expanding Masculinities Through the Danmei Novel Little Mushroom by Shisi

Abstract

Set against the backdrop of a post-apocalyptic future where as a result of infections due to rapid mutations in most earthly organisms, human civilisation has significantly declined, the Danmei Novel Little Mushroom by Shisi narrates the tale of a mushroom on a quest to recover the spores stolen by some humans. At the beginning of the novel the mushroom attempts but is unsuccessful in saving the life of an injured human, however, in the process the mushroom absorbs the human’s genes and memories, and is able to shapeshift into a human form called An Zhe and thus sets on a course towards the location of human civilisation whereby he encounters Lu Feng the other protagonist of the novel. The research paper examines how this work of speculative science fiction embodies the concepts of post-humanism and queer masculinity and rejects the narratives of strict binaries and the superiority of the human race over others. The paper highlights the novel’s attempt to move away from anthropocentric and heteronormative thinking as the novel engages in narratives that showcase queer love and queer masculinities in a positive way that does not conform and restricts itself to the boundaries set up by a backward society.