Toward a Feminist Phenomenology of Temporal Harm

This essay offers a feminist phenomenology of temporal harm in order to track the ways the historical past shows up in an individual's present to displace and alter experiences of time. We argue that temporal harm is a key dimension of historical modes of domination and subordination. Temporal harm, although rooted in the historical past, causes intense suffering in the present in both chronic and acute forms. We draw attention to experiences of sexual violation and consider how they secure and renew gendered, colonial, racial, and class domination, in part through reanimating meanings that adhere to past events, creating an enduring, living legacy. Focusing on discrete instances of sexual violation discloses both the intertwined nature of these forms of domination and the importance of a politicized account of the historical pressures on how we live time.