PSA: Queer
Jun. 18th, 2010 11:38 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rm(This is an outgrowth of a comment thread I'm having with someone in their journal. If that someone is you, no worries, we're cool).
Queer (as an adjective, we will not be using the noun here) is not inherently synonymous with gay and lesbian or LGBT.1
Many LGBT people do not like or choose to use queer and/or feel it to represent something additional or instead of gay and lesbian or LGBT.
Because queer was originally a slur and not all LGBT people like to use it,2 it's generally best that straight people don't use the word unless talking about people and groups that self-identify as queer.
Queer can be considered a non-assimilationist word. Some LGBT people who are not interested in getting equal rights by proving we're just like straight people prefer the term. (This is like when I rant about how "I'm queer and you can tell and I like it that way.")
Some non-trans people who are gender non-conforming use the term or variations there of (i.e., genderqueer).
Some trans people who are additionally not straight use the term as a shorthand way of encompassing multiple identities.
Some people who would traditionally be called "bisexual" use the term to avoid the reinforcement of a binary gender dichotomy.
Some people prefer queer because it removes the separation between men and women in the LGBT community, breaks down barriers between bisexual and other orientation identities, and can be more inclusive of the T part of the LGBT (which often gets pushed aside, because oppressed groups can be crappy to each other too).
Others like it because it's only one syllable.
Additionally queer is sometimes used to encompass kink, polyamorous and other non-traditional relationship styles in a way that may or may not be related to LGBT individuals depending on the community.3
As usual, I don't speak for all LGBT or queer people, just myself and my experience of our communities. If you have questions or more to add, consider the comments a free for all. I'm particularly interested in other people's sense and connotations for the word as ongoing discussion in the original thread is revealing that they are highly varied.
1 A commenter reminds me that LGBT is just not enough these days, nor is LGBTQ, which you'll also often see. The full acronym these days often includes not just LGBT, but Queer, Questioning, Intersex, Asexual and more.
2 It's also just been brought to my attention that age may be a factor in how one reacts to queer so this PSA might seem more or less peculiar to you depending on your age.
3 Please see comments for additional discussion of this as there is disagreement on this one. It is problematic for many, and I tend to agree, although the arguments for its inclusion in queer also make a lot of sense.
ETA: Please read the comments. This is such an awesome display of diverse identities, respectful discussion about fraught issues and random people making friends I can't quite get over it. I am loving the LJ today.
Queer (as an adjective, we will not be using the noun here) is not inherently synonymous with gay and lesbian or LGBT.1
Many LGBT people do not like or choose to use queer and/or feel it to represent something additional or instead of gay and lesbian or LGBT.
Because queer was originally a slur and not all LGBT people like to use it,2 it's generally best that straight people don't use the word unless talking about people and groups that self-identify as queer.
Queer can be considered a non-assimilationist word. Some LGBT people who are not interested in getting equal rights by proving we're just like straight people prefer the term. (This is like when I rant about how "I'm queer and you can tell and I like it that way.")
Some non-trans people who are gender non-conforming use the term or variations there of (i.e., genderqueer).
Some trans people who are additionally not straight use the term as a shorthand way of encompassing multiple identities.
Some people who would traditionally be called "bisexual" use the term to avoid the reinforcement of a binary gender dichotomy.
Some people prefer queer because it removes the separation between men and women in the LGBT community, breaks down barriers between bisexual and other orientation identities, and can be more inclusive of the T part of the LGBT (which often gets pushed aside, because oppressed groups can be crappy to each other too).
Others like it because it's only one syllable.
Additionally queer is sometimes used to encompass kink, polyamorous and other non-traditional relationship styles in a way that may or may not be related to LGBT individuals depending on the community.3
As usual, I don't speak for all LGBT or queer people, just myself and my experience of our communities. If you have questions or more to add, consider the comments a free for all. I'm particularly interested in other people's sense and connotations for the word as ongoing discussion in the original thread is revealing that they are highly varied.
1 A commenter reminds me that LGBT is just not enough these days, nor is LGBTQ, which you'll also often see. The full acronym these days often includes not just LGBT, but Queer, Questioning, Intersex, Asexual and more.
2 It's also just been brought to my attention that age may be a factor in how one reacts to queer so this PSA might seem more or less peculiar to you depending on your age.
3 Please see comments for additional discussion of this as there is disagreement on this one. It is problematic for many, and I tend to agree, although the arguments for its inclusion in queer also make a lot of sense.
ETA: Please read the comments. This is such an awesome display of diverse identities, respectful discussion about fraught issues and random people making friends I can't quite get over it. I am loving the LJ today.
no subject
Date: 2010-06-18 07:06 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-06-18 07:55 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-06-20 11:26 pm (UTC)I think most of the people I know perform gender(s) on a regular basis, for fun or life, or both. I know I do.
I've switched to using "pansexual" instead of "bisexual" mostly not to reinforce the gender dichotomy, but also because I find it has a useful implication which I want. I think that using the word "pansexual" as my sexual-orientation identifier immediately gets across two things to the people hearing it: acknowledgment that there is a multiplicity of genders without strict definition of what those genders might be, and that those people are explicitly included in my sexual orientation as people I'm attracted to. I find this super-helpful, as I am most attracted to people who blur or cross gender lines. So it's helpful to have a way to imply that with the language I use in social settings.
I've never felt that "pansexual" carries an implication that you find a particular gender presentation attractive regardless of the sex of the person in question; I almost use it to signal the opposite--the less I can pin down anyone's gender presentation, the more likely it will be that I am going to be physically attracted to them, and that I do find various gender presentations more or less attractive depending on the sex of the person in question...
I feel like "queer" or "genderqueer woman" is almost a better sexual descriptor for me right now than it would be a good orientation label...
But YMMV. We should talk more sometime soon about this; it's fun!
no subject
Date: 2010-06-20 11:35 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-06-20 11:55 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-06-21 12:05 am (UTC)Yeah. My ex-boyfriend made a hot slutty goth chick. I'm much less interested in slutty goth chicks when they're actually women -- at least when they do 'slutty goth chick' the way he did. And guys in tuxedos are nice and all, but not as nice as women in tuxedos.