Queer techno-orientalism as method: Mr. Robot, Uterus Man , and other Chinese techno futures

This article inter-references Asian North American theorizing of techno-orientalism and queer Asia as method. Specifically, it develops queer techno-orientalism as method to think beyond Chinese queer and trans bodies’ hyper visibility as “technologized threats” in techno-orientalist representations and their invisibility in China’s cisheteronormative, nationalist hi-tech future. It argues that Chinese queer and trans bodies can reclaim a reparative techno future beyond these two dominant frames. To do this, I practice queer techno-orientalism as method by juxtaposing the cyberpunk TV series Mr. Robot (2016–2019) and the animated short Uterus Man (2013). I read against the grain of techno-orientalist tropes to explore other possible relationships between Chinese queer/trans bodies and technology more specifically, and between East Asian queer/trans futures and technology more broadly.