This has been bugging me for some time. Last year the local college had a LGBTIQ&A conference. Lesbian Gay Bi-Sexual Transgender Intersex Queer and Alies I have been wondering, what or who could be considered "queer" that wasn't already listed?
Are you sure that the Q stood for "queer"? I've seen the phrase LGBTQ before, and the Q stands for "questioning", i.e. those working out their sexual identity, usually though not always teens. The I is new to me, I'm not sure what's in "intersex" that isn't covered by the LGBT part. Beyond that, it's nice to acknowledge our hetero allies.
Yes, I saw it written out Q is queer. Intersex can be LGBT or straight. Until recently Intersex was called hermaphrodite.
There are some LGBT people who prefer the word "queer" as a political statement. They see it as a way of "reclaiming" the word, an attempt to take the sting away from it. Other people see it as a way of including as many people as possible in one short word, something that fits easily on a headline or a banner. I'm only speaking for myself, but I prefer the word "gay" when I refer to myself. I'm uncomfortable with "the Q-word." Some of that comes from being uncomfortable with many of the people I've met who use the word and insist that everyone else use it. I believe in allowing people the right to use the words of their choice to refer to themselves, but I similarly insist on the right to do so as well. I've heard the word used to refer to anyone whose sexuality doesn't conform to popular practices and prejudices. A woman in my town who has been involved with heterosexual S & M has been particularly vocal about her right to call herself queer. I imagine the word could also be used to refer to multi-partnered people. In this case, it almost seems to mean "kinky and proud." As I see it, a problem emerges when a word means so many different things to different people. It loses its usefulness.
but that's language 4 u. take any popular word and be4 2 long it gains many synonyms just through common usage by disparate groups of people who each identify with the word and apply it to a particular context that is relevant to their group. 'queer' is one example. 'shaman' is another word that comes 2 mind. lots of new age types call themselves 'shamans' which some people in the american indian community resent because they say 'shaman' should only be applied to them and noone else. in fact, according to raven kaldera, 'shaman' was a loan word from the siberian language which in turn borrowed it from an african tribe. i don't think words in the language can be owned by any particular group. however i do have trouble myself understanding how it could be appropriated by heteros into s&m. the word 'queer' has such obvious and time honoured homosexual allusion.
I identify as Queer. I am a woman, and I date other women and transmen. My queer identity leaves room for growing for me and anyone that I date. If I am with a presumed woman who discovers that they are trans my queer identity would not change whereas my lesbian identity would. Any of the orientations listed above could also be considered queer....I just feel like the word is more open than the others. Heterosexuals could be into some kind of queer het sex! Queer is just anything outside of the norm..it's nothing to be freaked out about!
clover's got it; I'm transgender and have felt attractions to men, women, and transfolk. I feel that someone's mind and spirit is what you fall in love with; not their body. I'd call myself "queer" as a label.
i dont like queer at all. Just sounds negative. I know it is the term for other than the norm, but so many people use it in a deregatory nature. Some individuals like to "reclaim" the word, but to me it always will be like an insult.
Queer is a very broad term for anyone who doesn't adhere to moral majority sexual attitudes--e.g. swingers, bois
or Queers and Allies? The gay group at my local university was known as LGBT, which meant Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered. Lots of people outside the group were confused by the letters, and the joke going around was that it stood for Large Green Breakfast Treats. I spoke up and said that I preferred Lovers Grapple Behind Trees or Let's Get Busy Tonight. The problem is that acronyms and abbreviations are great for saving space only if everybody concerned knows what they stand for. Otherwise, they're confusing. I also think of a local suburban paper that referred to one of their local schools as PMS, with MS standing for Middle School. It's a jolt to see "PMS Girls win 42-38" or something like that. If these girls had PMS, I'd want to get out of their way.
I prefer the term 'hermaphrodite'. A lot of people see people inflicted with this rpoblem as ugly but regardless of how I think, 'hermaphrodite' makes it sound more beautiful than being male or female!
