Labels in a state of flux

[daresbalat]

One of my current obsessions is finding the cultural implications of the word "Queer", what it means to different people and to what extent it's a Western concept. Obviously, many people still associate it with aging queens, so that's one level. On a more subtle one though, queer as a word and concept really only exists in English - I think as I've

Comments

[yourapocalypse]

I was going to mention this on one of your earlier posts. I dislike the term 'queer', unless it's used in the context of 'strange and unusual' (think Sherlock Holmes, wandering round a mansion with a pipe). In my albeit limited experience*, people who use that word to describe themselves are neither strange or unusual, they are however often camp, flamboyant, and intensely irritating.

*And this is like, two, maybe three people, so it's not like I've so I'm making huge sweeping statements ;)

[daresbalat]

Heh, yeh. Like radiotoothhurty says, it's a reclaimed word. In this sense it largely DOES mean 'strange and unusual', come to think of it. It's very much in opposition to mainstream perceptions of gender and sexuality.

Hmm.

[yourapocalypse]

Perhaps I'm misunderstanding the context you're using it in. I'm only aware of it being used by gay men (but rarely gay women) as a term of self definition? In that instance it's a little strange, after all, gay is mainstream, we don't live in the 70's any more.

What do you mean by 'mainstream perceptions of gender and sexuality' though?

[daresbalat]

As always just ask wikipediaWell without getting too deep

[radiotoothhurty]

Isn't Queer a reclaimed word like Black (as opposed to the formerly 'polite' but now condescending 'coloured') or more specifically Nigger ( in the seventies it was impolite to refer to someone in Britain as 'Black' but not outright offensive

[daresbalat]

Funnily enough names for people of colour (current preferred term) was the example he cited, but I don't have enough of a memory to recall them all so I missed it out.

The problem with reclaimed words is that the amount of power derived from embracing the term is never enough to denature the power in it's previous derogatory usage and never addresses the fact that bigots in the rest of the world won't play along and will continue to use the term as abuse indefinitely.I think in this case to some extent that's the idea. "We're here, we're queer, get used to it" was the main Act Up slogan and kinda sums it up really. the whole point of queer is it started as a rejection of mainstream ideas (including mainstream ideas of LBG) of gender and sexuality, so it was very much in opposition to something