Queer temporality is a concept that challenges traditional notions of linear time and suggests a way of thinking about time that is nonlinear, cyclical, and constantly shifting. It suggests that rather than being fixed, rigid, and determined, time is malleable, subjective, and open to interpretation. In this essay, I will explore how queer temporality can disrupt the moral narrative of progress and offer a new phenomenology of existence grounded in fluidity and impermanence.
The moral narrative of progress is rooted in a linear view of history where events are seen as moving toward a predetermined goal or endpoint. This view sees time as a straight line leading from past to present to future, and assumes that human beings have made progress toward greater knowledge, understanding, and freedom.
This narrative ignores the complexity and contingency of human experience and fails to account for the ways in which social structures and power dynamics shape people's lives. Queer temporality challenges this narrative by rejecting the idea that there is a single path toward progress and instead suggesting that multiple temporalities coexist and overlap.
This means that time can be experienced differently depending on one's perspective, positionality, and lived experiences.
Someone who identifies as LGBTQ+ may experience time differently than someone who does not due to their unique experiences with marginalization, discrimination, and oppression. They might see time as cyclical, repetitive, and traumatic, while others may perceive it as linear and forward-moving. Queer temporality disrupts the assumption that everyone experiences time in the same way, opening up space for different ways of seeing and experiencing the world.
Queer temporality offers a new phenomenology of existence based on fluidity and impermanence. It suggests that life is always changing, shifting, and unpredictable, and that identity and relationships are never fixed or static. Instead, they are constantly being formed and recreated through interactions with others, cultural contexts, and personal experiences. In this sense, queer temporality calls into question the traditional binary between self and other and allows for more complex understandings of subjectivity and embodiment. This is particularly important for those who identify as transgender, nonbinary, intersex, agender, or genderqueer, as it recognizes the complexity and multiplicity of gender identities beyond the male/female binary.
Queer temporality offers a powerful critique of the moral narrative of progress by challenging its assumptions about the nature of time and human experience. By refusing to view time as linear and predictable, it opens up space for alternative ways of thinking about social change, historical trajectories, and individual identities.
It also presents challenges for individuals and societies who cling to the notion of progress and stability, as it requires a rethinking of how we understand ourselves and our place in the world.
In what ways can queer temporality disrupt the moral narrative of progress and offer a new phenomenology of existence grounded in fluidity and impermanence?
Queer temporality is a concept that challenges the linear and progressive nature of time as it relates to gender identity and sexual orientation. It allows for non-binary interpretations of time and can be seen as an alternative way of experiencing the world outside of traditional norms and expectations. By rejecting the idea of a fixed timeline, queer temporality offers a more nuanced understanding of human experience that is open to change and flux.