The Queer Temporalities of Care theory suggests that different understandings of time and space can provide insights into sustainable practices for both individuals and communities. This approach has been used to explore how non-heteronormative identities such as transgender and genderqueer people may have unique perspectives on time and space that could inform more equitable ways of living in relation to the environment. In this essay, I will examine how queer temporalities of care can offer models for sustainability in ecological and social ethics.
Theoretical Background
The concept of "queer temporality" was developed by scholar Elizabeth Freeman as a way to describe the ways in which non-normative identities experience and construct time differently than those who adhere to conventional gender roles and expectations. According to Freeman, queer temporalities are characterized by their resistance to dominant narratives about linearity, chronology, and progress; instead, they emphasize the importance of the present moment, cyclical patterns, and the ability to create alternative futures.
Ecological Ethics
The idea of queer temporality can be applied to ecological ethics in several ways.
It could challenge the notion that humans have a right to control or dominate nature, instead emphasizing interdependence and mutuality between human and nonhuman beings. It also highlights the importance of attending to multiple temporal scales simultaneously, recognizing that changes in one system affect others over different periods of time.
Queer temporalities could promote forms of conservation that prioritize local ecosystems and culturally specific knowledge systems.
Social Ethics
In terms of social ethics, queer temporalities suggest that community and relationships take precedence over individualism and competition. This perspective could lead to practices such as gift economies, where resources are shared without exchange value, or collective decision-making processes based on consensus rather than majority rule. These approaches prioritize care for the most vulnerable members of a group while recognizing that all individuals contribute something valuable to the whole.
Queer temporalities offer a unique perspective on sustainability that emphasizes connection, relationships, and resistance to oppression. By embracing these perspectives, we can move beyond the narrow frameworks of mainstream environmental and social movements toward more just and equitable solutions.
Can queer temporalities of care offer models for sustainability in ecological and social ethics?
Queer temporalities of care refer to unconventional ways of thinking about time that focus on the present moment, reject linear notions of progress, and emphasize interconnectedness with other beings and things. This way of seeing time is often associated with non-Western cultures and can provide valuable insights into how humans relate to their environment and one another.