The word Queer

[Fleet]

I was at a rally today. It was to protest a proposed rescinding of the protection of homosexuals from discrimination in public universities. Basically it was to protect the protection that homosexuals have (it was being threatened).

Anyway, the speakers kept using the term LGBTQ. Q being for queer. But they had already named gays and lesbians (L and G). "Isn't that redundant," I thought to myself. Apparently it isn't, according to these definitions.

"Queer has traditionally meant odd or unusual, though modern use often pertains to LGBT (gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, intersex and non-normative heterosexual) people." - Wikipedia

"It can also include asexual and autosexual people, as well as gender normative heterosexuals whose sexual orientations or activities place them outside the heterosexual-defined mainstream (e.g. BDSM practitioners, or polyamorous persons)." - Wikipedia

"Queer is a much more political term and is often used by those who are politically active; by those who strongly reject traditional gender identities; by those who reject sexual identities such as gay, lesbian, bisexual and straight; by those who see themselves as oppressed by the heteronormativity of the larger culture; and/or by heterosexuals whose sexual preferences make them a minority (for example, BDSM practitioners)." - Out Now Springfield

I always thought the term Queer meant homosexual and nothing more. I guess I was wrong. So, does this mean all of the heterosexuals here on TT are also Queers? Or have I misunderstood something?

 

[Camel26]

I choose to identify as queer for several reasons...

*I have had healthy relationships with both men, and women...however, I don't feel the label "Bisexual" applies to me, as, I am attracted to women more frequently than men, and, furthermore, do not believe in the gender binary (aka: I don't believe gender is as black and white as just "male" or "female") therefore, queer seems to be a bit less rigid with regard to gender preference/identity and sexual orientation, and it suits me just fine.

*i'm definitely odd and unusual.

*I am also a member of the BDSM community...which, to the vanilla world, makes me "weird" or "queer"...and I choose to embrace those things that make me different than the 'nillas.

I could go on and on about queer theory...it gives me warm fuzzies. 😀

EXCELLENT topic.

I vote: If you feel a label applies to you, and you're comfortable with it...well, that's for you, and you alone, to determine. Go for it...

 

[CellarDweller]

First of all Fleet, thank you for your support.

GLBTQ (and sometimes I) pretty much stand for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Intersex.

As you stated, "Queer" is usually seen as a more political term, taken as a schoolyard taunt, and turned into a force that we take on ourselves. One of the best known political groups started in the early 90s and they named themselves "Queer Nation". They tend to be much more "in your face" with protests and such.

I choose to identify myself as "gay".

 

[kopfhorer1]

We live in a day and age when sex for any reason other than reproduction is regarded as terribly deviant. At best. Witness the following that Dr. Phil ad his kind have.

 

[Journia]

I never liked to refer to homosexuals as queer. I mean, they aren't really that strange! I mean, I'm a queer individual simply because I'm a very odd human being, as many people have seen. But I'm not homosexual, bisexual, transgendered or...wait, what is intersex? I'll look it up.

But yeah, they're not queer.

TO MEEEEE!!!1

 

[kopfhorer1]

...I mean, I'm a queer individual simply because I'm a very odd human being, as many people have seen. ...

You too, huh? 😀

 

[CellarDweller]

Transgender is a general term applied to a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups involving tendencies to deviate from the normative gender roles.

Transgender is the state of one's "gender identity" (self-identification as woman, man, neither or both) not matching one's "assigned sex" (identification by others as male or female based on physical/genetic sex). "Transgender" does not imply any specific form of sexual orientation; transgender people may identify as heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual, pansexual, polysexual, or asexual; some may consider conventional sexual orientation labels inadequate or inapplicable to them. The precise definition for transgender remains in flux, but includes:

"Of, relating to, or designating a person whose identity does not conform unambiguously to conventional notions of male or female gender roles, but combines or moves between these."

"People who were assigned a sex, usually at birth and based on their genitals, but who feel that this is a false or incomplete description of themselves."

"Non-identification with, or non-presentation as, the sex (and assumed gender) one was assigned at birth."


Intersexuality in humans refers to intermediate or atypical combinations of physical features that usually distinguish male from female. This is usually understood to be congenital, involving chromosomal, morphologic, genital and/or gonadal anomalies, such as diversion from typical XX-female or XY-male presentations, e.g., sex reversal (XY-female, XX-male), genital ambiguity, sex developmental differences. An intersexed individual may have biological characteristics of both the male and female sexes. Intersexuality is the term adopted by medicine during the 20th century, applied to human beings whose biological sex cannot be classified as either male or female. Intersex is the word adopted by intersex activists who criticize traditional medical approaches to sex assignment and seek to be heard in the construction of new approaches.

Some people (whether physically intersex or not) do not identify themselves as either exclusively male or female. This self-identification has been called ambigender.

 

[The_Crusader]

I've always used the word as websters defined it "peculiar and/or out of the ordinary" thus, I myself would identify myself as "queer" simply because I'm a dork XD

 

[kopfhorer1]

I consider myself queer (and got called that as a kid) because I'm a smart person who refuses to act dumb.

"People who were assigned a sex, usually at birth and based on their genitals, but who feel that this is a false or incomplete description of themselves." [my emphasis]

How could it possibly be otherwise?

 

[Frost King]

Well, i have a friend who is gay but i don't like to use that word around her because i don't care that she is she's a great person and i actually am the only friend of hers that excepts it and doesn't judge her i told her that it doesn't matter she's still my friend but i don't use that word queer either it just sounds disrespectful.

 

[CellarDweller]

"People who were assigned a sex, usually at birth and based on their genitals, but who feel that this is a false or incomplete description of themselves."

How could it possibly be otherwise?

A good example of this would be someone who is born a hermaphrodite, meaning they are born with both male and female sex organs.

I recently saw a TV show on TLC (The Learning Channel) on a couple who gave birth to a child who was a hermaphradite. They had intended to allow him/her to keep both sex organs, and let him/her decide what sex he/she should be.

Their pedietrician disagreed with this, and felt the small penis should be removed, and raise the child as a girl. He later told the parents there was a cancerous growth in the penis, and a biopsy was needed. They consented to a biopsy, however, the doctor removed the penis without their consent.

When the parents obtained the tests, they discovered there never was any trace of cancer.

Should this child grow up and have more testoserone than estrogen, and decide he is truly a boy, surgery has already physically made "him" a girl.

 

[sadi]

Cellar, I've seen similar shows to that (where the patient is either a hermaphrodite, or has a condition [forget the medical, technical name for it]) where they appear one sex for all means seen, yet they are of the opposite sex. (For example someone looking like you, yet they have the reproductive organs and material of a female, or vice-versa.)

I personally think that the reproductive organs one was born with should decide their gender, regardless of the 'paraphernalia' attached (penis or vagina). In addition, I saw (what I feel is) all the hype regarding 'the first man to have a child', simply as a Mars bar with a Snickers wrap. Though I do understand the feeling of being trapped in another gender's body, and wanting to remedy that fact to the proper feelings as much as possible, if your reproductive organs are that of a male, no matter what your 'wrapper' outside looks like, you're still that Snickers bar inside. Or Mars bar inside (/Or vice-versa). But that's simply my humble view on the whole transgender/intersex (which I still don't fully understand, the intersex one :huh) matter.

 

[Fleet]

I don't mean to be rude, and I'm sorry if I missed or forgot something that was already posted. Anyway, my original question was this. Are heterosexual males with, for example, tickling and foot fetishes considered "queer" given the definitions in my original post? Or have I misunderstood something?

 

[Journia]

Oh. Yeah.

 

[MistressValerie1]

I don't mean to be rude, and I'm sorry if I missed or forgot something that was already posted. Anyway, my original question was this. Are heterosexual males with, for example, tickling and foot fetishes considered "queer" given the definitions in my original post? Or have I misunderstood something?

Not by any conventional usage of the term, no. I have only heard the term "queer" used to refer to gay or transgendered individuals, usually politically active ones. FWIW, I tend to think of myself (a hetero-flexible top) as a "perv" or "kinkster" rather than "queer" or "bisexual."

 

[Janus4385]

Should this child grow up and have more testoserone than estrogen, and decide he is truly a boy, surgery has already physically made "him" a girl.

I don't know, I think if it were me who was born a hermaphrodite I would probably prefer to have my parents choose the wrong gender and become a lesbian or a homosexual man. I mean, maybe it's just me, but growing up with two sex organs seems like an indescribable trauma in development.

If you were given the choice as a grown up, sure, maybe you could handle it better, but as a child? And what's the policy then, wait till the kid is 18? I support leaving that decision on someone other than the kid...

I have never read anything about hermaphrodites in such a context, and very little in a biological context. But I have read plenty of psychology books, essays and thesis(my best friend is a psychologist, and works for my country's government at the PANI, which roughly translates to National Infancy Patronage). This is just to clarify that my assumptions and position come from this background and non other.


As for the queer part, I would say queer has too much of a wide range of use, I for one, could call a person like Tim Burton queer, but I do not think he is homosexual(I think he is married and such...). Sadly I confess to have seen "America's next top model" a couple of times, and there I see a perfect example of what I would differentiate as queer, there were two gay men, the black gay man was in my opinion VERY queer, as for the other one, he was just a gay man(with certain mannerisms still, but nowhere near the other guy). Just my two cents...

 

[sabaki]

This is a pretty awesome topic. I didn't know there were so many savvy people here.

I don't mean to be rude, and I'm sorry if I missed or forgot something that was already posted. Anyway, my original question was this. Are heterosexual males with, for example, tickling and foot fetishes considered "queer" given the definitions in my original post? Or have I misunderstood something?

The current thought seems to be that anyone is whatever they say they are, not subject to argument or requiring rationalization. So a straight cis-male with a foot fetish is welcome to call himself queer; I guess he would probably only do that for the sake of supporting queer rights in general, or for social solidarity. There would be no point to adopting that label otherwise.

I wouldn't say that all TT members are queer, because some of them are homophobic or conservative with respect to alternative genders. They themselves would probably object to the term.

Also, Q in LGBTQ is sometimes taken to mean "questioning". So it really is a pretty inclusive acronym. The only requirement is that if you're one letter you can't hate on another letter in the acronym.

 

[Violetta]

The only requirement is that if you're one letter you can't hate on another letter in the acronym.

Not that that's ever actually stopped anyone.