If you read my last post about the Huffington Post article on being genderqueer, or the post before that on LGBTQA+ representation on YouTube - you may be asking yourself this.
It originally translates to "strange" or "odd", which is why it got donned as a slur towards the LGBTQA+ community (specifically homosexuals and those who are not cisgender) in the early 19th century when acceptance rates were certainly not how they are today. The term "queer" was once a term frowned upon and rejected by those in the LGBTQA+ community.
So what changed?
Nowadays, we see "queer" plastered all over the LGBTQA+ community. Queer spaces, queer studies...queer and genderqueer have even been claimed as non-binary identities. It is even often used as an umbrella term in place of the "LGBTQA+" acronym that represents the entire group.
The reclamation of "queer" to mean something that is no longer offensive to the LGBTQA+ community is a pretty divided subject.
On one hand, we have those who are all for reclamation of the word as an in-group term.
Think of it like how certain words are offensive to people of color, unless used by people of color.
Some find the word queer to be empowering by those in the LGBTQA+ community, or feel it is a term that accurately represents how they identify because it abolishes other labels.
But on the other hand, we have those who still see it just as it started: as a slur.
Some people are still very offended by it, and don't think it is right for some to claim it as an identity.
They also often believe that if those in the LGBTQA+ community use it, that is only encouraging those outside of that group to continue using it with its original offensive connotation.
So in conclusion, the implications of the word queer really depend on a person-to-person basis.
Got More Gender Queer-ies?
Check out this video by YouTuber Ashley Mardell for some more info on queer identities!
or this article "Queer 101: Identity, Inclusion, and Resources" by the Unitarian Universalist Association"!
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LGBTQA+: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer/Questioning, Asexual, +
Homosexual: A person who is sexually attracted to those of the same gender
Cisgender: Someone whose biological sex aligns with their gender identity
Queer: An in-group term sometimes used to refer to the entire LGBTQA+ community, or certain people in the community who define themselves this way
Genderqueer: Someone who does not identify with a single, exclusively masculine or feminine gender identity
Non-Binary: Any gender identity that is not specifically male or female
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