Gay mushroom

And I’m interested in exploring lots of aspects of ecology through what we would call a queer lens.

So I’m going to break down the parts of this term, “queer ecology.” So starting with “ecology,” which more people are probably familiar with, this is the study of organisms and their interactions with each other and within their habitats.

And the fact that we’ve set our expectations so low is a bit of a problem. We must all strive for a future that doesn’t allow hate and intolerance to survive.

Mushrooms are Queer

In a world that can often be hostile and unforgiving, queer folks and mushrooms are fighting to survive and thrive. Fungi are forming these intricate partnerships with 90% of terrestrial plants.

For example, the term “gender,” that is a social word. The LGBTQ+ revolution started in the shadows of society but could not be contained there!

Mushrooms have the power to transform things. How do you feel about this?

PATTI KAISHIAN: I think it’s a really interesting conversation. It is rare for a fungus to have only two biological sexes, and some fungi, such as Schizophyllum commune, have as many as 23,000 mating types.” Patricia Kaishian & Hasmik Djoulakian The Science Underground: Mycology as a Queer Discipline

As outliers in the natural world, fungi populate the intersectional gray areas of our environment.

So they can basically have the same structures in one or multiple structures in different fruiting bodies. Coming around the corner to face them was a little intimidating at first, but very quickly I picked up their relaxed, non-judgemental vibes. They’re all inside our bodies. Are there other fungi that challenge our views on sex and gender?

PATTI KAISHIAN: Absolutely.

Both mushrooms and queer individuals have a vital role in our world’s ecosystem, and we should celebrate their differences and similarities with joy and appreciation.

Despite the negative connotations sometimes attached to mushrooms, their resilience and ability to thrive in harsh environments should be celebrated.

That’s sort of who gets to make determinations in science and who gets to publish their data, and how does data get talked about? This involves challenging traditional gender roles and heteronormative narratives that are often embedded in our understanding of the natural world. Thanks for having me.

KATHLEEN DAVIS: So let’s start with the basics here.

Enter queer ecology: an emerging field that seeks to explore the connections between ecological issues and queer identities. Existing somewhere between plant and animal, mushrooms, not unlike the LGBTQ community, resist categorization.

This is your VIQP (very important queer person) invitation to join the mycological community: Go on a local foraging tour; watch some North Spore YouTube videos on how to start growing your own mushrooms at home in your yard or indoors; research the ever-growing list of benefits of eating mushrooms and taking medicinal mushroom supplements. And that inherently is something that we can’t extend to other organisms without having a conversation with them about it.

But what we do know in studying all sorts of organisms, from fungi to birds to lizards and algae, is that the way in which all sorts of organisms are moving throughout the world, there’s so much variation in their reproduction and in their sexuality.

If the tree simply would not have evolved without this fungal partnership, does it make sense to fully think of it as an individual?

And so fungi are doing these types of interactions around us all the time. How can we understand, for example, a species of tree that is entirely dependent on a partnership it has with a fungus? And then, over time– over weeks or months or hopefully even years– you might start to see– and you’ll very likely start to see– your relation to that place become very personal.

KATHLEEN DAVIS: Patti Kaishian is the incoming curator of mycology at the New York State Museum, in Albany, New York.

And can they be understood differently? As queer people continue to push for their rights and recognition, mushrooms are a powerful reminder of their strength and determination.

So next time you see a mushroom, consider how it represents the struggles and triumphs of queer folks. There’s, we think, tens of thousands of species of them.