Abstract: The biopunk novel The Windup Girl reveals a pathway to Orientalism activated by energy discourse. Centered on tracing the chain of energy flow, “Energy-Orientalism” aims to uncover issues of energy injustice stemming from energy hegemony. The novel introduces posthuman discourse as an intermediary in an attempt to reconcile the West-East binary opposition regarding energy issues. Regrettably, the intervention of posthuman discourse, instead of resolving this contradiction, contributes to constructing a distorted cognitive schema of a “New East” that encompasses both Eastern peoples and non-humans by being co-opted and appropriated by energy capital. Energy, emerging as a core driver - following race and gender - of fantastical narratives about the East, hybridizes Western-centrism, anthropocentrism and energy hegemony to propel an energy turn within Orientalism. The position of “Energy-Orientalism” endows the Western concept of subjectivity with a “New West” perspective, through which it scrutinizes the existence of the “New East” - an alliance formed between traditional Eastern categories and non-human species.

Key words: The Windup Girl, energy injustice, “Energy-Orientalism”, failure of posthuman discourse, oriental fantasy