The Queerness of Distraction

Queer theorists most commonly challenge conventional pictures of the stable self by pointing out ways in which the self can be opened towards others (i.e. “spatially” disrupted). This essay demonstrates how the recent work of Paul North on “primal distraction” supplies material for an expansion of this critique by allowing theorists to better understand how the self can also be “temporally” disrupted, its apparently smooth progression through time being in fact punctuated by fundamental discontinuities. Taking up a recent monograph by Kent Brintnall as a case study in the fruitfulness of bringing North’s work to bear on queer studies of religion and subjectivity, the article discusses distraction’s relevance not just for understanding queer temporality but also for reimagining theological problems in areas such as soteriology, eschatology, and mysticism. The article thus both sketches out a particular project for queer theory and points to the broader research programs in theory and theology that such a project enables.