2006-09-17 02:09:48 · 15 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Cultures & Groups ➔ Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender
"Queer!
Ah, do we really have to use that word? It's trouble. Every gay person has his or her own take on it. For some it means strange and eccentric and kind of mysterious. That's okay; we like that. But some gay girls and boys don't. They think they're more normal than strange. And for others "queer" conjures up those awful memories of adolescent suffering. Queer. It's forcibly bittersweet and quaint at best - weakening and painful at worst. Couldn't we just use "gay" instead? It's a much brighter word. And isn't it synonymous with "happy"? When will you militants grow up and get over the novelty of being different?
Why Queer ...
Well, yes, "gay" is great. It has its place. But when a lot of lesbians and gay men wake up in the morning we feel angry and disgusted, not gay. So we've chosen to call ourselves queer. Using "queer" is a way of reminding us how we are perceived by the rest of the world. It's a way of telling ourselves we don't have to be witty and charming people who keep our lives discreet and marginalized in the straight world. We use queer as gay men loving lesbians and lesbians loving being queer. Queer, unlike gay, doesn't mean male.
And when spoken to other gays and lesbians it's a way of suggesting we close ranks, and forget (temporarily) our individual differences because we face a more insidious common enemy. Yeah, queer can be a rough word but it is also a sly and ironic weapon we can steal from the homophobe's hands and use against him." - Queer Nation Manifesto
I like to think of it as referring to anything GLBT, not specifically gay or lesbian. As such, it serves a niche in that it doesn't have any direct synonyms.
2006-09-17 18:47:22 · answer #1 · answered by Atropis 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I find the word Queer Offensive, patronising, and irrelevant. Theres no need for that word. Its exactly like the word ******. Should never be used no matter what the situation
2006-09-17 03:09:10 · answer #2 · answered by aberboychris 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Queer originally meant odd, not normal. The word has since become a derogatory term for homosexual. Any word used as a put down to a group of people is rude. If somebody is going to find it offensive, patronizing or irrelevant depends on the person....you can't just lump the entire group together. However, I for one, am not in the habit of being rude to people.
2006-09-17 02:24:21 · answer #3 · answered by Arlene06 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
A while ago the gay community decided to take control of the word 'queer'....they decided that if they called themselves queers then the gay bashers could no longer use that as a slur against them..I used to find it offensive but since then I don't care...it's only a name...
2006-09-17 03:04:44 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I wish that all the homophobes who insist on answering these questions would either "come out" or all get on a bus to somewhere and never return. Of course it is OFFENSIVE to call people QUEER - it always has been and always will be. When will people get on with their own lives and stop judging others - certainly gays are a sizable minority but that does not make them either queer, perverted or whatever the straights want to call us. Strange how we tolerate you without a second thought!
2016-03-27 05:02:03 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I am not gay but I find the word disrespectful and offensive. Straight people wouldn't want to be called queer and neither would anyone else. It's rude. People like to be called what they are and that's people.
2006-09-17 02:13:36 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
how about if we stop calling ourselves gay or queer and just say something like . I'm wearing comfortable shoes
2006-09-17 03:48:24 · answer #7 · answered by Ron N 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Queer does not mean gay. /gay means happy. I'm not against gay people. In fact one of my favorite sister-in-laws is gay. It does seem that they take words from the English language and change their meaning, just like the word gay. Just like they took something as beautiful as a rainbow so that now when someone sees one. they think gay. I do think that is stupid.
2006-09-17 02:30:03 · answer #8 · answered by Rudy 3 · 0⤊ 3⤋
Irrelevant. Some use it to descrbe themselves, others don;teven care about the word anymore
2006-09-17 06:45:21 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
why use the word 'gay', it has nothing to do with sexual preference, 'gay' means happy, which applies to anyone regardless of sexual preference
the correct word to use is not queer or gay but samesexpreferrer or something like that
2006-09-17 02:12:45 · answer #10 · answered by marceldev29 4 · 1⤊ 3⤋