Queer is an identity, is often considered a movement, for people for sexual and gender minorities, and people who fall outside of and/or reject of the cultural norms around sexuality, gender identity, an/or gender expression. The word queer can mean different things to different people, but the most common definition is someone who isn't straight and/or cisgender (cishet). The Queer Movement has largely been about anti-conformity and the rejection of binaries and being pushed into boxes. Similar to the term queer is the term variant.
Queer is often used as an umbrella term for those in the LGBTA+ community (though not all people in the LGBTA+ community identify as queer). One may identity as queer in addition to another identity (ie, queer gay, queer bisexual, etc.) It can also be used be as an orientation on itself own or as gender identity (see genderqueer). As an identity on it's own it is often found useful by, but is not exclusive to:
- People who have a complicated identity that is difficult to explain with a single term.
- People who's relationships/orientation cannot be classified using gay, straight, or other common terms due to being non-binary.
- People who are unsure of their identity, but know they aren't straight.
- People who are not straight but do not want to label themselves with a more specific label.
The term is sometimes capitalized when referring to an identity or community, rather than as a standard adjective.
History
Entering the English language in the 16th century, queer originally meant "strange", "odd", "peculiar", or "eccentric". Over time, queer acquired a number of meanings related to sexuality and gender, ranging from narrowly meaning "gay or lesbian" to referring to anyone not heterosexual or not cisgender.[1]
By the late 19th century, queer was beginning to gain a connotation of sexual deviance, and was typically used as a pejorative term to refer to feminine men or men who were thought to have engaged in same-sex relationships. Throughout the later 19th century and early 20th century the use of queer as an identity within the LGBT community went in and out of fashion.
Beginning in the late 1980s, the label queer began to be reclaimed from its pejorative use as a neutral or positive self-identifier by LGBT people. An early example of this usage by the LGBT community was by an organization called Queer Nation, which was formed in March 1990 and circulated an anonymous flier at the New York Gay Pride Parade in June 1990 titled "Queers Read This". The flier included a passage explaining their adoption of the label queer:
"Every gay person has his or her own take on it. For some it means strange and eccentric and kind of mysterious [...] And for others "queer" conjures up those awful memories of adolescent suffering [...] 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."[2]
At the time there was a perceived shift in the gay community toward liberal conservatism, lead by though who viewed themselves as "normal" and who wished to be seen as ordinary members of society. The queer identity was often associated with a more radical political stance, particularly it was reclaimed by queer people of color, gender non-conforming people, and other people whose existence greatly challenged the status quo who were not accepted by those those of a more conservative view.
In academia, the term queer and queering broadly indicate the study of fields from a non-heteronormative perspective. Queer studies is the study of issues relating to sexual orientation and gender identity, usually focusing on LGBT people and cultures. It was originally centered on LGBT history and literary theory, but has expanded to include many other fields of study, such as biology, sociology, anthropology, philosophy, psychology, political science, and ethics.
Several LGBT+ social movements and support groups around the world use the identifier queer, such as the Queer Cyprus Association in Cyprus and the Queer Youth Network in the United Kingdom, and the national counselling and support service Qlife in Australia. The letter Q is commonly added to the LGBT acronym standing for queer. Common acronyms that include it are LGBTQ and LGBTQIA.
Some people, both LGBT and non-LGBT, object to the use of the word for various reasons. Some LGBT people dislike the use of queer as an umbrella term because they associate it with this political radicalism, which in their view, played a role in dividing the LGBT community by political opinion, class, gender, age, and other factors. Other LGBT people disapprove of reclaiming or using queer because they consider it offensive, derisive, or self-deprecating because of it's use by heterosexuals as a pejorative.
"Queer Heterosexuality"
Queer is occasionally expanded to include any non-normative sexuality, including "queer heterosexuality". Which, by those who argue for its existence, is said to be a (cisgender) heterosexual person who has nontraditional gender expressions, or who adopt gender roles that differ from those traditionally expected in their culture, such as masculine women and feminine men.
This term has been criticized, and is largely not accepted by LGBT people, who argue that queer can only be reclaimed by those it has been used to oppress. It can be seen as straight people, who do not experience oppression for their sexual or gender identity, appropriating what they see as the fashionable parts of the terminology used by those who are oppressed for their sexuality.
"For someone who is homosexual and queer, a straight person identifying as queer can feel like choosing to appropriate the good bits, the cultural and political cache, the clothes and the sound of gay culture, without the laugh riot of gay-bashing, teen shame, adult shame, shame-shame, and the internalized homophobia of lived gay experience."[3]