Resting, Waiting and Other Forms of Resistance: The Chronopolitics of Chronic Illness
摘要
This chapter aims at discussing the time(s) of chronic illness through a crip perspective. The reflection contributes to debate initiated with the concept of “chrononormativity” (Freeman, Time binds: Queer temporalities, queer histories. Duke University Press, 2011); it draws from literature on crip temporalities, that define time as a crucial category for understanding illness and disability. The first section examines the notion of chrononormativity as articulated by Freeman, applying it to a crip analysis of time. The second section explores how chrononormativity imposes societal imperatives and expectations related to productivity, reproduction, and happiness. Additionally, it demonstrates how chronic illness disrupts these expectations, creating a deviation from the anticipated social temporalities. The third section focuses on three specific aspects of the experience of chronic illness—chronicity, rest, and waiting—as instances where normative time is deconstructed and reinterpreted. Finally, the chapter considers the political potential of crip time in the experiences of chronic illness, highlighting the opportunities for unexpected alliances through examples drawn from trans temporalities and ageing futures.