What's in a word--Shakespeare has Hamlet asks? So, what's all this fuss over the word "queer"?
I bring up the subject, not "issue," because of emails that I receive concerning the use of the word "queer." Like last week, when a reader wrote "all queers. The phrase is enough to make any one vomit. No wonder the Gay Community has a rough time with that expression let alone the straights."
Well, the "gay community" does not have a rough time with this word, it is only individuals. To them, I'd simply say - it's past time to get over it.
The word "queer" has been transformed from its pejorative past, now embracing the totality of the homosexual (gay & lesbian), bisexual and transgender people in one word, bringing together everyone into one community.
If we wanted to be politically correct (but maybe a bit outdated), I guess we could us the standard Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender, breaking it down to either GLBT or LGBT, but our community is now so much more than a four-letter acronym.
We could refer to ourselves as the Gay Community but that would leave out too many of us - transgender is NOT gay, nor is it bisexual. Then there are our lesbian sisters. Are they gay as well or are they homosexual women?
And what about those who are questioning? For them, we are told to just add a Q to our GLBT / LGBT now making it GLBTQ / LGBTQ. Oh, that extended acronym!
This issue is not isolated to Qt.
Homosexual, bisexual and transgender community centers across America are struggling with this issue. How many letters do we need to add to the acronym GLBT / LGBT for use to be totally inclusive in our self-description for our community?
While we will always embrace our queerness and never shun the use of the term, we will also never refer to heterosexuals as straights.
The term "straight" makes reference to the straight and narrow path of moral correctness and of going straight or to correct one's behavior to live a better life.
The notion that heterosexuals live straighter more normal lives than we queers is ridiculous. In fact, I find the term "straight" as used to describe heterosexuals far more offensive than the term queer.
As a gay man who is a member of the queer community my life is as straight and normal as any heterosexual I know.
To be clear, queers and heterosexuals are both straight. We are both as normal as God has created us.
Qt offers no apologies to any queer or heterosexual who may be offended by our position. It's now time to examine your personal feelings and how you choose to identity yourselves with your homosexual, heterosexual, bisexual and transgender bothers and sisters.
