Huffpost "Gay Voices" now "Queer Voices"

[Mitchymo]

I am offended by the term queer. That aint ever going to change. I'm 36 and from England. Queer doesn't simply mean different, it means odd, strange, irregular, abnormal.
I understand that words can change their meaning over time, and in this use of the word queer, it is meant to represent all who are not of conventional/traditional sexuality, however you best describe it, just people who aren't so obviously male or female physically or mentally whatever.

It doesn't matter. It doesn't work unless the word suits all whom it supposed to describe. It can't do that when it is seen as offensive.

The term faggot is as derogatory as queer when used in that context, but yet faggot is less offensive i would say.
It literally means a piece of wood. It is actually ironic and kinda humouress.
But queer still means what it always has done. This invariably causes offense to many who regard it as undermining that which the gay community has been striving for.
Being different is invariable. Being strange, odd, weird, irregular, abnormal et al, is unwelcome.
The term queer perpetuates inequality, and that is as offensive to me as the intent of those who use it derogatorily.
It is no surprise that the word is not offensive in the slightest to some others within the gay community however. Some guys deem it fitting, particularly if they feel they stand out as different, even amongst the rest of the gay population, let alone straight individuals.
And i accept that the term gay is not inclusive enough for the bi, trans, and lesbian population.

Somebody suggested earlier on that the word 'rainbow' would be better, and i tend to agree.
I immediately lose interest in reading any article that is written to a primarily gay audience, with queer in its title, or subtitle, whatever.
I loathe the word. It does not represent me because it offends me. And it is something that won't change over time if 'i just get used to it', because as already stated, it undermines the very goal of how i want to be seen in the world, different, but normal.
I can't see how that definition can ever be percieved positively by anyone other than those who genuinely describe themselves as odd.
Just my thoughts. I see the UK edition hasn't introduced this. I hope they really don't in the future.

 

[jbrown329]

^^ You were about 2yrs old when I came out. 25yrs ago, the word queer bothered me. Today? I'd rather be queer than faggot.

 

[Rolyo85]

I like the word and use it. So do thousands of LGBT Americans. Reappropriation is a powerful tool, and you should embrace it rather than rail against it.

 

[Mitchymo]

I like the word and use it. So do thousands of LGBT Americans. Reappropriation is a powerful tool, and you should embrace it rather than rail against it.

I would assume you fail to understand my point of view or simply reject it. Either way, your suggestion that it be embraced is as valid as the suggestion that you cease to use it.

Reappropriating the word queer is likely to work no better amongst gays using it, as the black population using nigger amongst themselves. Nigger isn't some acceptable slang for non-white persons. Queer isn't acceptable slang for anyone whose not straight and gender static. The only way that the term could ever be acceptable is if nobody has a problem with it, i.e. if everyone thought the same way you do about the term. I don't think the same way, neither i'm certain do many more.

 

[Rolyo85]

Utterly inaccurate comparison, except in the sense that it's not ok to be used by a heteronormative straight person. But I even know a few folks who identify as queer although they prefer the opposite gender.

Nigger is just a word, and one that's pretty much only used in slang. Queer is a legitimate and definable culture, and one that's steeped in original art and creativity.

So yeah, sorry, those two words have nothing in common, even their linguistic origins are drastically opposite.

 

[umdoistressilvaquatro]

Reappropriating the word queer is likely to work no better amongst gays using it, as the black population using nigger amongst themselves. Nigger isn't some acceptable slang for non-white persons.

Maya Angelou once said that reappropriating that word was like putting poison in bavarian crystal and expecting it won't be poisonous anymore just because you changed the vials... A word is a real thing with real power, and this word in particular was created to divest people from their humanity.

 

[Rolyo85]

Bullshit. This word was used - and to this day is still used - to describe something strange, interesting and curious.

 

[umdoistressilvaquatro]

^^ You were about 2yrs old when I came out. 25yrs ago, the word queer bothered me. Today? I'd rather be queer than faggot.

You know, we could very easily not be called queer nor faggot. I mean, at least in a column that is specifically aimed towards the LGBT community.
And if you recognize that years ago you were indeed bothered by that word, I can't see why wouldn't you empathize with people today that are bothered.

 

[Mitchymo]

Utterly inaccurate comparison, except in the sense that it's not ok to be used by a heteronormative straight person. But I even know a few folks who identify as queer although they prefer the opposite gender.

Nigger is just a word, and one that's pretty much only used in slang. Queer is a legitimate and definable culture, and one that's steeped in original art and creativity.

So yeah, sorry, those two words have nothing in common, even their linguistic origins are drastically opposite.

This is your take on the word. It is not mine. That 'queer' has a definable culture does not make it satisfactory as a blanket word that seeks to include the LGBT population as a whole.

Not all queers are gay, not all gays are queer. I'm gay, I'm not queer. The term can be embraced by as many people that like to use it, but to me, that term is nothing more than derogatory slang. And for a mainstream media source like the HuffPost to adopt the term, shows a lack of sensitivity and understanding about the LGBT community.

 

[Mitchymo]

Bullshit. This word was used - and to this day is still used - to describe something strange, interesting and curious.

He is not referring to queer here.

 

[purina]

I suppose they put it in the "Women's Section"? (I can't see Huffington Post with
Opera Mini)

If I'd referred to anyone as "black" as a kid I'd've got a smack and a dirty look from my mom.

 

[TX-Beau]

^^ You were about 2yrs old when I came out. 25yrs ago, the word queer bothered me. Today? I'd rather be queer than faggot.

Which is what I really think is going on in here. "Queer" was a kind of rallying call for gay men who refused to be anything other than what they were, it was taking the term and owning it.

But it seems that younger gay men don't know that - they weren't there - and it's morphing into something else entirely. For all you GAY men who are so offended, the original intent of that term was to Characterize you as a nancy, prancing, lispy little faggot.

Are you not horribly offended by term gay?

 

[Mitchymo]

For all you GAY men who are so offended, the original intent of that term was to Characterize you as a nancy, prancing, lispy little faggot.

Are you not horribly offended by term gay?

The term gay has been truly reappropriated. There is no effective use of the term as derogatory. There is no linguistic hang-up either since the words most traditional meaning refers to an excitedly happy person. It also lacks the vulgarity of the term ho-mo, and requires less speech than homosexual.

 

[mightbe]

IIRC, we started calling outselves "gay" back in the 1920s as a sort of codeword. I'm not so sure "queer" started the same way. I think it was applied mainly from the outside and then gradually became a slur. Gay became a slur too, but I don't think it ever carried the weight of queer (probably because of the word's original connotations). I think that's why "gay" has been able to shed its derogatory connotations while "queer" hasn't (extensively). I don't think any of use would mind straight people referring to us as gay (assuming you actually are).

I have no idea where faggot came from, but it's obviously pretty descriptive in it's own way. Haha

 

[TX-Beau]

IIRC, we started calling outselves "gay" back in the 1920s as a sort of codeword. I'm not so sure "queer" started the same way. I think it was applied mainly from the outside and then gradually became a slur. Gay became a slur too, but I don't think it ever carried the weight of queer (probably because of the word's original connotations). I think that's why "gay" has been able to shed its derogatory connotations while "queer" hasn't (extensively). I don't think any of use would mind straight people referring to us as gay (assuming you actually are).

I have no idea where faggot came from, but it's obviously pretty descriptive in it's own way. Haha

Depends on how old you are and where you grew up. I never heard anyone say "gay" without it being an insult as a kid. In fact it was a worse insult than just about anything else.

Words are words, they all only have the meaning we agree they do, those meanings are malleable and you CAN affect their usage and definition. Instead of prune-faces puckered up, panty-twisting about it, why no use that ability and change the game.

Frankly if a bunch of Hipsters and "millennials" want to take on "queer" - more power to'em, they aren't trying to fuck me over by calling themselves that.

 

[TX-Beau]

"Gay" was usually accompanied by a pantomime of a lispy, precious little Nancy boy - a sentiment NOT specifically reserved for us (...is he GAY, or just ENGLISH?...) it was a direct slur on your masculinity. "Faggot" was what you shouted in a fight, implying the other guy was a cocksucker, was about the act itself (fudge-packer, ass bandit, etc,) "Queer," didn't get a lot of usage but can probably be categorized under the fightin' words heading.

Congrats, you have now caused me to contemplate the subtle distinctions in derogatory gay bashing. It's a new field for me.

 

[TX-Beau]

The term gay has been truly reappropriated. There is no effective use of the term as derogatory. There is no linguistic hang-up either since the words most traditional meaning refers to an excitedly happy person. It also lacks the vulgarity of the term ho-mo, and requires less speech than homosexual.

(emphasis mine)

What a small little bubble you live in.

 

[Mitchymo]

Frankly if a bunch of Hipsters and "millennials" want to take on "queer" - more power to'em, they aren't trying to fuck me over by calling themselves that.

The issue with the HuffPost was not about the acceptability of the word in ANY usage, but as a blanket term which only describes a subculture within the LGBT population.

What a small little bubble you live in.

Yet you provide no example. I invite you to do so instead of trying to demean my way of thinking.

 

[TX-Beau]

The issue with the HuffPost was not about the acceptability of the word in ANY usage, but as a blanket term which only describes a subculture within the LGBT population.



Yet you provide no example. I invite you to do so instead of trying to demean my way of thinking.

Yes, well we have all read you opinion and well done. It may be that in London or N.Y. life is rainbows and pastel bunnies all snuggly under a blanket of acceptance, but it is also true that when the political right in this country says "gay" they mean "faggot." they say "gay" because it lets them call you queer right to your face while you applaud them for it.

There is nothing but insult no matter what term they use.

 

[Mitchymo]

It may be that in London or N.Y. life is rainbows and pastel bunnies all snuggly under a blanket of acceptance, but it is also true that when the political right in this country says "gay" they mean "faggot." they say "gay" because it lets them call you queer right to your face while you applaud them for it.

There is nothing but insult no matter what term they use.

I can easily believe it from the political right in the US, where there is no seperation from the right and the far right. This however is still a tad cynical. I doubt the centre right use the term gay ANY differently to how everybody else uses it, as simple description in a PC way.