A queer metaphysics is an approach to understanding reality that challenges traditional understandings of selfhood, intersubjectivity, and communal belonging by emphasizing the importance of multiple perspectives, fluid identities, and non-binary categories. This perspective can be applied to various areas of study, including philosophy, psychology, sociology, literature, art, and politics. In this article, I will explore how a queer metaphysics reshapes ontological assumptions about selfhood, intersubjectivity, and communal belonging through examples from gender studies, ethnicity studies, and queer theory.
Selfhood
Queer metaphysics challenges the idea that there are fixed, essentialized definitions of identity. Instead, it argues that identity is constantly in flux and cannot be reduced to biological or social determinants alone.
Sexologist Judith Butler argued that gender is performative rather than natural, meaning that gender is constructed through language and behavior. This challenges the notion that gender is determined solely by one's biological sex and suggests that gender is a process of creating and performing different identities based on context and culture. Similarly, race scholar Cornel West has argued that racial identity is fluid and can change depending on one's experiences and context. These ideas suggest that selfhood is not static but dynamic and relational, with no single, fixed definition.
Intersubjectivity
Queer metaphysics also challenges the idea that intersubjective relationships are based on shared meanings and values. Instead, it suggests that these relationships involve complex negotiations between individuals with different subjectivities.
Feminist theorist Monique Wittig argued that power dynamics in heterosexual relationships reinforce traditional gender roles, while transgender activist Janet Mock pointed out that cisgender people often expect transgender people to conform to their own understandings of gender. In other words, intersubjective relationships are always in tension, with competing perspectives coexisting without resolving into consensus.
Communal Belonging
Queer metaphysics questions the assumption that communal belonging requires shared beliefs and practices. It instead emphasizes the value of difference and diversity within communities.
Postcolonial theorist Gayatri Spivak argued that marginalized groups have distinct cultural traditions and histories that cannot be reduced to dominant narratives. Queer theorist Eve Sedgwick suggested that queerness involves resisting oppressive norms and creating alternative ways of being together. In both cases, the emphasis is on plurality rather than unity, suggesting that communal belonging does not require sameness or uniformity.
A queer metaphysics reshapes ontological assumptions about selfhood, intersubjectivity, and communal belonging by emphasizing multiple perspectives, fluid identities, and non-binary categories. This approach challenges traditional understandings of identity and intersubjective relationships, valuing difference and diversity over unity and consensus. By recognizing the complexity of these issues, queer metaphysics provides new insights into how we can create more inclusive and equitable societies.
How does a queer metaphysics of relational multiplicity reshape ontological assumptions about selfhood, intersubjectivity, and communal belonging?
The study of queer metaphysics of relational multiplicity focuses on how we perceive our sense of selfhood, otherness, intersubjectivity, and communal belonging. It suggests that these concepts are not fixed but rather fluid and contingent upon our relationships with others, including those outside of our immediate social circle. By rethinking the concept of being as an open system composed of multiple elements, queer theories challenge the traditional view of identity as stable and essentialist.