LGBTQ+ vs Queer

Im okay with omnisexual although I think my orientation is not just limited to sex. I like gay alright, but I sort of feel like I'm adopting a term that has in history been more identified with men. I think it depends how the person says the word. Words can be said in a sneer or words can be said with pride and respect. I like queer because it's inclusive and it doesn't have to provide specification if you don't want to narrow yourself. Strange is not a bad word to me. It's like exceptional or amazing. LP has a great song "Strange."

 

https://www.google.com/search?q=str...ate=ive&vld=cid:97237eb8,vid:AYHB0Z4mEd0,st:0

 

Great question … I never liked the word “queer” because I grew up in the generation where it was a common derogatory slur. Tbh I was quite upset that the ‘category’ I feel most closely associated with was labeled ‘genderqueer’ … I’ve tried to embrace it, and can now write it comfortably, but still have a hard time saying the word out loud - I use commonly ‘gender fluid’ instead in conversation, even though by definition it doesn’t really apply so well. My kid (non-binary) uses the term ‘queer’ a lot, generally as a catch-all and we’ve had this discussion a number of times. For her it is a common colloquialism and holds no negative connotations, where I’ve always been a more literal person. I remove the slur and the word still means ‘odd or strange’ as a noun or “to spoil or ruin” as a verb … I just don’t like associating sexual orientation or gender identity with either of those.

 

I dislike the word 'queer' when I was young, that really wasn't a whole lot different than 'fag' as far as offensiveness

Also it always used to be the news (and general public when speaking in non-offensive terms) would use "gay & lesbian" or simply "gay"..
Then it became "GLBT" which was around for years..
Then for some reason they re-arranged the letters to "LGBT"..
and eventually added more to include other groups.

 

I guess I always thought queer was the blanket term for anything related to the community. I don't really like it myself I think it was used so derogatory that it ruined it. But at the same time taking it back and using it with pride can rejuvenate anything anyone has ruined!

 

I'd rather have LGBTQIA+, Queer is just the Q but there's so much more than that

 

I dont ever remember it being GLBT

 

I agree, in that it is easier and/or blanket term. Part of the problem is more letters keep getting added and it is harder to keep track of and not leave anyone out, not to mention that if there were a letter for EVERY category that now falls under LGBTQIA+, to be totally inclusive, the acronym would be a book long.

Queer has gotten a bad rep due to negative, derogatory misuse. The only way to change that is to OWN it and make it a positive.

Hmmm, I have always known the Q to be Questioning and not queer.

 

Vastly prefer queer to LGBTQ+. The acronym conveys the infighting and the confederation of sexual minorities into insular cliques that don't get along. Inevitably, letters get left out. I think if we want to portray all sexual minorities as a united community with a common interest it makes more sense to have one word.

 

yeah lesbian feels weird for me as well :/

 

I like LGBTQIAP+, it makes me feel like i am part of a community :3 although i do still like queer, i think the fact that it was used against people doesnt matter because using that for some people is better that LGBTQ

 

i always use queer because it is shorter and just easier for me in general

 

I think as said above that queer is more of an umbrella term for people who don’t want to label themselves as far as I understand. They might have preferences but no particular label. I prefer the term lesbian to describe myself but don’t mind people referring to me as a gay woman either. I don’t particularly like queer for myself because it doesn’t describe my orientation accurately but I wouldn’t get angry if somebody used it to describe me, I might correct them in some circumstances but as I said, it’s not my preference.

 

Complicated question. I keep wondering why we need labels. Labels isolate us from most of the world as some form of “not normal’, etc. I believe I am just a normal person who prefers to present myself as both a man and a woman because that’s who I am. That’s how I identify myself. That may or not say something about my sexual preferences in partners. My identity is one thing. My sexual preferences should be mine, not some label. When I joined EC, I thought how do I express who I am. I chose to use Bi cause it would be easy for the people here to know where I was coming from. So it can be convenient, but outside of this general community, in my state it says freak. What if we chose to not have labels?

 

I feel like queer at least in my generation is an umbrella term for anyone who is lgbt. I’m happy to use it for myself and I’m not offended when my friends use it to refer to me since many of them are queer too. I definitely think it’s generational. I have positive connotations because it’s never been used in a negative way toward me. I’m also 26 though so the word has been reclaimed since it was first used as a slur in the past, so I understand older people might not like having the word used about them and I wouldn’t do so unless they said it was okay.

 

It once was. I remember that. If it was ordered by the number of people in each group, G would come before L.

I don't like the word queer. I remember it being nothing but a slur. When we were in school and had to read books by British authors, the word queer would be in there about things or people who were odd. It wasn't an everyday word in the U.S.

People just use words they're given. They don't question them.

I don't even know how I feel about the word "lesbian." It comes from the name of an island in Greece. There's also the word "sapphic." I've heard some women use it. I'd have to read up on it. People use the word "gay" because it's quick and easy. It came up around the time of the Stonewall riots or before and it wasn't a kind descriptor of how homosexual men behaved and interacted. Then the word "homosexual" is criticized because it sounds like something from an inquest during the paranoid McCarthy years ... which we're probably reliving today.

I probably use LGBT+ or GLBT+ more than the others.

 

I personally am not a fan of the word queer, even when defined as odd or strange. In that context, why not just say odd or strange? Short tangent aside, when I was significantly younger, queer was a slur and at that time having yet to realize that I was part of the community, had been called as such and it hurt to be judged so. I use LGBT, it's short, to the point as I understand it, and is a good enough blanket term in my own opinion to not really need the QIA+ but still covers us all. That said, I will use the word queer now that it has been reclaimed, but really only if someone else in the community has used it first and it fits in the context of the conversation for me to repeat it. Otherwise, I just say LGBT.

 

I personally love the word sapphic. I use it quite a bit to describe my identity because I feel like it conveys my preferences more. I’m bisexual but I’m oriented mainly toward women so I feel like sapphic gets that across better. And I think the history of the word is super important and awesome. Sappho was a great poet and I like that the word pays homage to her.

 

Yes, I love the word 'sapphic' too! It sounds slinky, sexy even.

Beth

 

I certainly remember queer used as queer and also as unusual. Eccentric is unusual too and that didn't get turned into a slur for gay dudes. You can say I'm a friend of Dorothy and confirmed bachelor. I love how gay was used in Christmas songs and others, meaning happy and joyous and sing it a bit louder than the other lyrics haha. For sure language changes over time and I'm fine with queer for myself and as an umbrella term as long as it's being used with good intent.

No one has to pick a label or you can pick a few if you wish. I don't expect others to follow my understanding of it, but you can say I'm Kinsey 6, gay or queer...and in more ways than just sexuality lol. Lots of ways to describe other things about me too.