Queer Youth and Backward Momentum

Sheryl Watts

When exploring queer temporalities, it is important to consider how family relationships shape the experiences of LGBTQ+ individuals, particularly in adolescents and young adults. On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong explores how queer temporalities interlink with family dynamics, offering portrayal of identity development in family relationships. Drawing on Elizabeth Freeman’s concept of time binds and Muyuan’s context-specific exploration of queer youth temporality, I examine the intersection of family expectations and queer identity. Through the lens of the protagonist, Little Dog, it is revealed how family expectations and intergenerational trauma shape queer experiences. In the “Time Binds: Temporalities of Queer Maturity and Actualization” cluster, I present a deep analysis of Vuong’s novel to explore queer time in Little Dog’s gender, sexual, and social development and his unique process of self-actualization.  

In Muyuan Luo’s article, “Family and Queer Temporality Among Chinese Young Gay Men: Yes, But Not Yet” Muyuan Luo calls for a more context-specific sociology and gives possibility to theorize queer temporality from a more intersectional perspective and to focus in on individuals’ terms. Luo states, “we argue for a ‘yes-but-not-yet’ form of queer youth temporality: a specific queer way to arrange one’s lifetime characterized by a ‘yes’ attitude to certain forms of normative familial responsibilities and a constant ‘not-yet’ status to shoulder such responsibilities” (Luo 143). Although there are undoubtedly distinctions between these cultures, they also share some familial patterns of expectation. Reading this approach in Little Dog’s Vietnamese immigrant family context, I find that Little Dog’s “yes but not yet” form of queer youth temporality would likely encompass a negotiation between his family responsibilities and stepping into his queer identity.

Within this framework, family relationships emerge as both a source of comfort and constraint in Little Dog’s life. For Little Dog, the ‘yes’ aspect of his queer youth temporality involves honoring family obligations such as providing any means of support for his family as Vietnamese Americans. We learn that as a child of an immigrant mother, Little Dog has to take on many adult responsibilities but remains to sympathize for her. He takes on the role of the family’s interpreter, calls her work to cut hours, and orders her clothing (Vuong 32) which are examples of his delayed adolescence and having to grow up too fast. However, the ‘not yet’ aspect of his temporality is an acknowledgement that certain parts of his identity and desires are still developing and might not align with family or social expectations such as being gay. Little Dog struggles to discuss his body and sexuality to the people of authority in his life and his mom teaches that to be invisible is to be safe (Vuong 96) which reflects when Little Dog comes to terms with his queer identity. In the moment when Little Dog and his love interest, Trevor, begin experimenting in sex and Trevor displays resistance whenever he feels like a girl, Little Dog’s thought response is, “as long as the world did not see us, its rules did not apply. But I was wrong” (Vuong 20). Little Dog had learned that invisibility keeps him safe even in his queerness. This displays how queer temporality intervenes in the hegemonic system of progress. In queer time, Little Dog’s act of keeping himself hidden can be viewed as trailing behind because of living in a time not designed for him. In these instances, queer people miss out on heterosexual milestones or have what would be called a ‘failed transformation.’

Elizabeth Freeman’s concept of time binds provides a theoretical framework for understanding the relation of queer identity and temporality within the novel. As Freeman suggests, time binds shape individuals’ experiences of existence, instilling moments with social and cultural significance. In the case of Little Dog, the constraints of time binds manifest through the intergenerational trauma of his family history, as well as the social pressures to conform to normative expectations of masculinity and sexuality. A notable moment to examine is when Little Dog comes out to his mother in a Dunkin’ Donuts. After telling her, he is already prepared to be kicked out of the family. He says, “If you don’t want me I can go. I won’t be a problem and nobody has to know” (Vuong 130) and his mother responds, “I don’t have anyone else” (Vuong 131). This moment of vulnerability between Little Dog and his mom showcases the love, trauma, and suffering that defines their relationship. His offer to leave demonstrates his fear of rejection, while his mother’s response reveals her own dependency on her son. The moment underscores the impact of intergenerational trauma on family bonds. Whenever she tells him, “They kill people for wearing dresses” (Vuong 130) he lies to her about having never worn a dress. He states, “But what you didn’t know was that, in fact, I had worn a dress before – and would do so again (Vuong 140). The moment highlights both the “yes but not yet” aspect because Little Dog is saying yes to staying with his mom despite not having her full acceptance, but also ‘not yet’ due to fear of telling her the whole truth.

Closer to the end of the book, in Little Dog’s reflection, he imagines a different life for them:

Maybe you’ll be a girl and maybe your name will be Rose again, and you’ll have a room full of books with parents who will read you bedtime stories in a country not touched by war. Maybe then, in that life and in this future, you’ll find this book and you’ll know what happened to us. (Vuong 240)

The idea to see him and his mom in a different light speaks to the complexities of family histories shaping individual identities. It highlights a yearning for understanding and connection between Little Dog and his mother, free from the burdens of war and social expectations. With the “yes but not yet” temporal framework applied to Little Dog, he can begin to embrace a sense of patience and self-compassion as he navigates coming to terms with his queerness while creating authentic connections with his loved ones. Near the end of the book, Little Dog reaches a self-compassionate realization and says, “All this time I told myself we were born from war – but I was wrong, Ma. We were born from beauty” (Vuong 231). Little dog finally begins to recognize the deeper truth that him and his mother’s existence is not solely defined by the conflicts in their family history. This realization displays Little Dog’s understanding of self beyond their struggles.

In Time Binds, Freeman discusses “The ‘backwards’ emotions elaborated by artists for whom the birth of the modern homosexual identity-form was constraining rather than liberating” (Freeman 8). The term backwards can imply that one is going against the expected narrative or emotions associated with creating a new identity, and in that establishment, the modern homosexual identity had not felt liberating but limiting. An example is found when comparing the way straight time navigates life versus queer time with the different structures followed within life and relationships. It is a limiting instead of liberating experience for Little Dog to be unable to fully live in his truth with his mother and his relationship with Trevor. In comparison to straight time, it can be seen as ‘backwards’ emotions because he does not follow the expected narrative. Freeman’s theory also suggests how timing plays a significant role in an individual’s sense of existence. Freeman states, “Thus far I have argued that the discipline of ‘timing’ engenders a sense of being and belonging that feels natural” (Freeman 18). Having the mastery of timing in one’s life can create a feeling that feels the most appropriate. In the book, when Trevor and Little Dog are eating in a diner, Trevor takes notice of a couple and says, “That married couple. They’re still trying to be happy…I bet they’ve been eating the same sandwiches forever” (Vuong 168). These lines reflect the difference between the straight relationship and the queer relationship between Trevor and Little Dog. Trevor’s comment indicates the predictability of the married couple’s life together. The repetition in that conventional relationship highlights the lack of need to conform to social norms. In contrast, Trevor and Little Dog’s relationship is marked by fluidity and unpredictability and is not bound by routine.  

In Heather Love’s, Feeling Backward: Loss and the Politics of Queer History, she claims:

Not only do many queers, as I suggest, feel backward, but backwardness has been taken up as a key feature of queer culture…Over the last century, queers have embraced backwardness in many forms: in celebrations of perversion, in defiant refusals to grow up, in explorations of haunting and memory, and in stubborn attachments to lost objects. (Love 7)

I find this feeling of embracing backwardness to be true in Little Dog’s conclusion. He says, “I run thinking I will outpace it all, my will to change being stronger than my fear of living…But when I turn around to see the panting boy, to forgive him, at last, for trying and failing to be good, there’s no one there” (Vuong 241). Little Dog reflects a sense of backwardness as he attempts to reconcile his past with his present self. He runs with the intention to outpace the constraints of social norms, symbolizing a desire to move forward. However, when he turns around to forgive himself, there’s no one there to forgive because he chose the path, he created for himself, embracing backwardness in his own form. The form Little Dog takes is exploring his queer identity through writing a letter to his illiterate mother, displaying his full truth.  

Love’s perspective of embracing backwardness resonates with Little Dog’s journey as he wrestles with his queer identity and family obligations. In his negotiation between the “yes but not yet,” Little Dog faces the paradox of feeling backward while also striving to move forward. The backwardness is not a limitation but a key feature of the queer culture, as Love suggests. Similarly, Luo’s “yes but not yet” form of queer youth temporality provides a nuanced understanding of how one can reconcile with their queer identities and family responsibilities. Freeman’s concept of time binds likewise offers insight into Little Dog’s process of self-actualization as he confronts social and family expectations to authentically embracing his queer identity. Simultaneously, the “yes but not yet” temporal framework highlights Little Dog’s coming of age as a process and his evolving relationship with his family.

Works Cited