Queer temporality refers to how time is experienced and perceived differently for individuals who identify as LGBTQ+ than it is for heterosexual cisgender people. This can involve an awareness of past traumas, present challenges, and future hopes that are unique to these communities. Queer temporality also highlights the ways in which traditional chronologies fail to account for the experiences of these groups, leading to the need to create alternative narratives and modes of understanding time. In this essay, I will explore the concept of queer temporality and its implications for linear ethical, historical, and ontological narratives.
The first way in which queer temporality exposes the limits of linear ethical narratives is through its focus on personal experience. Traditional ethical frameworks often assume that certain actions are always wrong regardless of context, such as cheating or lying.
Many LGBTQ+ individuals may have faced discrimination or other harmful experiences related to their sexuality that affect their ability to adhere to these guidelines.
If someone has been rejected by their family or fired from a job due to their identity, they may feel justified in engaging in infidelity or other unethical behaviors.
Queer temporalities emphasize the importance of individual agency and choice in shaping one's own life path, rather than relying solely on external moral codes.
Queer temporality disrupts linear historical narratives by calling attention to events and movements that have been overlooked or erased from mainstream accounts.
Many histories of the gay rights movement emphasize white, male-dominated struggles for civil rights, ignoring the contributions of women, people of color, and transgender individuals. Queer temporality encourages us to recognize the diversity of experiences within these communities and understand how they have shaped history. It also challenges traditional notions of progress, highlighting setbacks and reversals that can occur even as societies become more accepting of LGBTQ+ identities.
Queer temporality questions ontological narratives by challenging assumptions about what it means to be human. Many theories of being and becoming rely on a heterosexual cisnormative framework, assuming that all humans experience time in similar ways. Queer temporalities show us that this is not always true, as individuals with nonbinary gender identities or who identify outside of the binary sex system often have unique perspectives on time and its passage. By acknowledging these differences, we open up new possibilities for understanding ourselves and our place in the world.
Queer temporality exposes the limitations of linear ethical, historical, and ontological narratives by revealing the complexities and nuances of LGBTQ+ identity and experience. By recognizing these insights, we can create more inclusive and equitable modes of thinking and being.
In what ways does queer temporality expose the limits of linear ethical, historical, and ontological narratives?
Queer temporality exposes the limits of linear ethical, historical, and ontological narratives because it challenges traditional understandings of time as sequential and unidirectional. Queer temporality is characterized by nonlinearity, fluidity, and multiplicity, which suggests that there are multiple ways to experience and perceive time.