There is no shortage of studies that explore how gender, sexual orientation, age, race, ethnicity, religion, social class, geographical location, or socioeconomic status can impact an individual's experience of time. Some researchers have even suggested that there are specific "temporalities" linked to these identities and positions in society - such as heteronormative temporalities, which privilege linear narratives and progressive development, or queer temporalities, which emphasize fluidity, cyclicality, and non-linearity.
Little research has explored whether queer temporality might offer alternative understandings of growth, transformation, and mortality. This essay will examine this possibility through a critical analysis of the work of three authors who explore the relationship between sexuality and temporality: Elizabeth Freeman, Judith Butler, and Sarah Ahmed.
Freeman argues that sexual identity is not fixed but constantly shifting in relation to power dynamics, societal norms, and personal preferences. She suggests that we should consider all experiences of pleasure and pain as interconnected rather than separate from each other. This approach to sex challenges the idea of progressive development by reframing it as something more continuous, cyclical, and recursive. In her view, there is no endpoint or goal to be achieved; instead, we must focus on staying present in our bodies and attending to their needs at any given moment.
Ahmed points out that queerness is often characterized by discomfort and unease - a sense of not quite fitting into dominant narratives about time and space.
Queer people may feel pressured to fit into traditional relationships and expectations around marriage and family life, but they also resist them because they don't match with their lived experience. Similarly, queer spaces are often considered dangerous or deviant, despite offering potential for connection and care.
Butler expands upon these ideas by suggesting that gender and sexuality are performative constructs that can be played with and transformed over time. They exist not just within individuals but also within broader social structures, such as language, politics, and economics. This view challenges the notion that growth and transformation occur only through linear progression towards a predetermined destination. Instead, she encourages us to think of change as an ongoing process wherein we negotiate new identities and roles in response to various contexts.
This essay argues that queer temporality offers an alternative understanding of growth, transformation, and mortality by focusing on fluidity, cyclicality, and non-linearity rather than progress. By considering all experiences of pleasure and pain as interconnected, we can learn to live in the present moment more fully. By questioning dominant narratives about time and space, we can create new possibilities for connection and care. And by recognizing that identity is always shifting and changing, we can embrace our imperfections and flaws without fear.
Can queer temporality offer alternative understandings of growth, transformation, and mortality?
The concept of queer temporality can provide unique perspectives on the nature of time and how it affects our experiences of growth, transformation, and mortality. It challenges traditional notions of linearity and offers an understanding of time as non-linear, multidimensional, and unpredictable. Queer temporality emphasizes the fluidity of time, which can allow for new interpretations of change and transition.