Rewriting the Human: Ecofeminist and Posthuman Visions in Vandana Singh’s Speculative Fiction

Abstract

This article brings Vandana Singh’s speculative fiction into a dialogue that draws together ecofeminist challenges to patriarchal, anthropocentric thought and posthumanist critiques of human exceptionalism. The short stories “The Woman Who Thought She Was a Planet” and “Requiem” provide the ground for this
exchange, each following characters whose lived experiences disrupt familiar boundaries between self, environment and species. Creating a posthuman affective awareness that unsettles extractivist thinking, these narrative ruptures act as forms of transgression, subtly reshaping what it means to be human. Drawing on ecofeminist and posthumanist theory, this discussion foregrounds the interconnectedness of all
life forms and calls for non-anthropocentric futures grounded in care, entanglement, and resistance to anthropocentrism. This article intends to establish that Singh’s speculative fiction makes us rethink what it means to be human. It critiques patriarchal and anthropocentric views, showcasing the shift toward a posthuman subject part of a larger interdependent ecosystem.