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“Queer is a slur” people when they see how common folks use the word “gay”:
actually yeah most people i’ve met irl don’t even know what queer means, so i have to explain it every time it comes up. but gay is universally known so people will just use it as a slur
As a Gen Xer, “queer” still makes me reflexively wince. I’m glad the slur has been reclaimed, though.
I’m queer as in “strange or odd from a conventional viewpoint”
Queer because it also meant strange and I am very much that
The official linguistic term is “The Euphemism Treadmill” and refers to things like retarded->special needs->intellectually disabled and sociopathy->borderline personality disorder->emotionally unstable personality disorder (although the latter is also somewhat reflective of advancement / evolution in our understanding of the disorder).
FYI borderline and sociopathy are actually two different things it’s not just euphemism. Borderline is also extremely treatable despite popular media representations
Yes I have it and also have been working inpatient psych for 10 years. Sociopathy is no longer used because that constellation of symptoms got worked into the cluster b PDs along with psychopathy’s closest modern analogue–antisocial. As I said, it’s also more reflective of the overall understanding of those presentations over time as psychology / psychiatry have evolved, including an understanding of how to treat them. It’s always been very important to me to understand where we’ve come from to better know where we’re going.
I use queer as my version of cool
I love being a queer
You should try being the queer, I’ve heard it’s even better
You do you, everyone can call themselves what they like! I personally don’t like ‘queer’ as it has connotations of otherness and strangeness and I don’t like the idea that LGBT+ people are strange just for existing - we’re a natural and normal part of human variation.
Given my experience with “normal” people, I would rather be strange.
I feel that so hard
That’s fair, and totally makes sense! I tend to like it as a descriptor for myself right now, because I can use queer as a catch-all that is faster and easier than “transfemme nonbinary pansexual”
We’re the same flavor of queer! I do the exact same thing. Easier than needing to clarify several different identities to the curious but well-intentioned cis-straight person I’m talking to.
