Soph Di Lazzaro
The human timeline is often measured by various milestones or markers of success that are situated throughout our lives. For example, there is a specific time period when youth are expected to transition into adulthood, a certain age at which men and women should get married and have children, find their lifelong careers, and so on. However, when critically examining this idea of linear temporality, it is evident that time is a socially constructed phenomenon. In Time Binds, Dr. Elizabeth Freeman discusses how time has historically been used within our institutions to regulate bodies into productive roles, a concept she coins as chronormativity. Freeman states, “Manipulations of time convert historically specific regimes of asymmetrical power into seemingly ordinary bodily tempos and routines, which in turn organize the value and meaning of time” (Freeman 3). We are socialized to behave in ways that are considered normative by those of higher power, but marginalized communities face hardships in conforming to the neat, linear timeline that society expects of them. The queer community, for instance, is comprised of a multitude of identities that deviate from our heteronormative understandings of temporality. Because queerness is highly stigmatized, queer individuals often experience delays in time when it comes to embracing their identities. Or, conversely, queer folks may be forced to grow up at a quicker rate because they face disapproval from their families. Queer temporality manifests differently for every person, but queer experiences often bleed together through shared trauma or circumstances.
The transgender community commonly experiences this wide range of unique temporalities. Casey Plett’s novel, Little Fish, offers insight into the interplay of trans identity and queer temporality. In “Chapter 0” of the novel (the chapter title itself breaking our preconceived understanding of linearity), a group of trans women discuss the non-linear nature of the trans experience. One character, Sophie, points out the stark difference in the way that trans people age compared to cis people, claiming that trans people can preserve their youth longer. The group attributes this to many possible reasonings, including taking hormones, differences in life spans, and societal purpose. Hormones, in a physical sense, may slow down the effects of aging, however, trans people’s lifespans often do not match up to cis people due to the various impacts of societal oppression. Sophie states, “The difference with transexual age is what can be expected of you. Cis people have so many benchmarks for a good life that go by age” (Plett 12). These “benchmarks” refer to the ways in which cis people conform to our heteronormative institutions, such as through achieving marital status or a high-paying occupation. Meeting these milestones is considered successful by societal standards and thus equates to living a fulfilling life. As Freeman similarly argues, “In the eyes of the state, this sequence of socioeconomically ‘productive’ moments is what it means to have a life at all” (5). The opening chapter in Little Fish highlights the difference in societal expectations between cis and trans people, contributing to the idea that trans individuals experience their own timelines that deviate from the norm. Trans temporality is evident through the experiences of aging, transitioning, and finding fulfillment. Not only can these temporalities produce negative implications, such as isolation and stigmatization, but they can also produce positive outcomes, such as building community or finding new modes of purpose.
Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters is another novel that revels in the complexity of queer temporality. The story follows the incredibly messy lives of two transgender characters, one of whom has detransitioned, as they navigate adulthood in a modern, cis-heteronormative society. Societal pressures confront these characters and challenge their identities as trans women. The novel itself follows a fragmented, non-linear narrative structure by jumping back and forth in time. Through this structure, we can move back in time with the characters to better understand their present state. It also allows the audience to recognize the nuances of trans existence. Although Reese and Ames both experience life as trans women, they follow drastically different timelines when it comes to their transition.
Transition is no linear process. Although for some trans people, medically transitioning can be a liberating period where one comes into their authentic identity, this is not the experience of every trans person. Transitioning does not negate the fact that being trans in a primarily cis society is incredibly difficult, and oftentimes dangerous. Trans individuals who struggle to pass or fully integrate themselves into society can feel isolated and thus pressured to detransition into whom they presented as before transitioning. Ames experiences complicated feelings about transitioning throughout the course of the novel. At first, transitioning into womanhood is very exciting for Amy. Her relationship with Reese is formative in shaping her identity. However, after receiving extensive mistreatment from cis people simply for her existence, being trans becomes impossible for Amy to bear. When explaining his reasons for detransitioning to his new partner, Katrina, he states, “I got sick of living as trans. I got to a point where I thought I didn’t need to put up with the bullshit of gender in order to satisfy my sense of myself. I am trans, but I don’t need to do trans” (Peters 96). Ames halts his transition because of the societal pressure that places immense hardships on individuals with nonnormative identities. Even though a trans person may decide to detransition because of their struggles, this does not mean their transition ends indefinitely. One may decide to transition again when the time feels right. By the end of the novel, it is evident that Ames feels less resentful toward his transness, opening up to the idea of potentially transitioning again. He informs Katrina that they can raise a child together, however, he “cannot promise that he won’t someday decide to live again as a woman. He cannot promise her that kind of stability” (Peters 316). Ames’s transition and detransition demonstrate the ways that trans temporalities may fluctuate over time.
Trans lifestyles typically break away from the heteronormative timeline that cis people conform to, therefore, trans people’s futures are often less structured or planned out. After Reese and Amy’s relationship comes to a dramatic end, Reese becomes increasingly aware of her aging and the lack of planning put toward her future. She describes the “Sex and the City Problem,” an issue that many middle-aged women face, where they must choose a life path that will bring meaning to their lives. For trans women, however, this concept is not easily applicable, often leading to a state of “No Futurism” (Peters 8). Essentially, trans women do not have equal access to the opportunities that cis women have when it comes to building successful and meaningful futures. Reese’s main inner conflict throughout the story is her desire to be a mother. She desires motherhood “worse than anything…In motherhood she could imagine herself apart from her loneliness and neediness, because as a mother, she believed, you were never truly alone” (Peters 6). When Ames proposes his convoluted plan to make Reese a mother to him and his lover’s unborn child, it opens a beacon of opportunity for Reese to fulfill her dream that seems so far out of reach.
Beyond the structural barriers that seek to prevent trans motherhood, there is even disdain within the trans community. Trans women are scrutinized for desiring biological children because it is seen as assimilating to a heteronormative lifestyle. In discussion with The Guardian, Torrey Peters addresses the politics circulating about trans motherhood. She asks, “Why can’t trans women have a desire to be a mother that isn’t wildly theoretical, based on all sorts of ethical considerations? What if you just think that being a mom would be meaningful and satisfying?” (qtd in McConnell). Our societal structure does not welcome trans women to explore temporalities that allow for the possibilities of motherhood. The medical community often discriminates against trans people seeking reproductive care, which delays or completely halts the process of family-building. In addition, it is incredibly difficult for trans people to be approved to adopt or foster children. These barriers greatly impact trans futures and livelihoods. Detransition, Baby gives its trans characters space and time to understand themselves and their desires, while creating a potentiality for new modes of purpose.
Queer time is an expansive framework that highlights the multitude of ways that queer beings deviate from timelines that uphold heteronormativity and engage with our oppressive systems. In the context of trans lives, the trans community interacts with time quite differently than cis people, specifically in how they navigate a world built around milestones and opportunities that are virtually inaccessible to them. Although the novels Little Fish and Detransition, Baby examine a plethora of temporalities that are relevant to trans people and center trans experiences, there are still many trans temporalities that can and must be examined. We cannot talk about trans futurity without addressing trans women of color, whose timelines are often shortened because of incessant violence from racist and transphobic cis individuals. According to Fisher et al, “Because trans women of color’s lives are so frequently and violently cut short, merely living long enough to have children and create a multi-generational family is a reproductive health issue that, regrettably, neither queer theory nor non-trans feminism cares to name as part of their own struggle” (6). As much as trans temporalities produce a positive reimagining of what the future can hold, it is just as vital to acknowledge temporal struggles that exist within the community that deserve immediate attention. All trans bodies are valid, and all trans beings deserve futures that extend beyond temporal constraints.
Works Cited
Fisher, Simon D., et al. “Introduction: Trans temporalities.” Somatechnics, vol. 7, no. 1, Mar. 2017, pp. 1–15, https://doi.org/10.3366/soma.2017.0202.
Freeman, Elizabeth. “Introduction: Queer and Not Now.” Time Binds: Queer Temporalities, Queer Histories, Duke University Press, Durham, NC, 2010, pp. 1–19.
McConnell, Freddy. “‘I Just Wanted to Write Something Funny for My Friends’: Torrey Peters on Detransition, Baby.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 7 Oct. 2021, www.theguardian.com/books/2021/oct/07/torrey-peters-trans-novelist-interview-detransition-baby.
Peters, Torrey. Detransition, Baby. One World, 2021.
Plett, Casey. “Chapter 0.” Little Fish, Arsenal Pulp Press, Vancouver, British Columbia, 2018, pp. 11–12.