Are you queer?

[Deja Q]

http://www.gaywired.com/avantgo/storydetail.cfm?Section=9&ID=1381

How do you feel about the word "queer" being banned in New York?

BONUS topic: Clark supports gays in military.

Clark/Kucinich in 2004, dude! :D

[mlawson]

1. I really do not like the term.

It reminds me of high school, and it sure as hell wasn't complimentary back then.

I just think of the word as having seriously negative connotations; maybe it's my age....

[Padraig18]

2. Pffft!

Queer? Fag? Gay? I have bigger worries than PC speech. :P

[jono]

3. Yes

I use the word queer to describe myself often. I have mixed feelings about this. On one hand, since I don't personally find it offensive I don't appreciate this person being told that he can't use it for his own venture. On the other hand, the word has a painful history and I absolutely understand why some people choose not to use it.

[kyrasdad]

4. depends...

someone else who gay calls me a big ol' fag, or a nelly queer, whatever... doesn't bother me... even some of my str8 friends jobbing me can get away with it...

Let someone say it in a derogatory way, and we're throwing down...

Should it be outlawed? Hell no. Freedom of speech is our greatest freedom. Outlawing a word or phrase because it's politically incorrect, derogatory, deameaning or whatever is wrong. What would be outlawed next? Think about it...

[Blue-Jay]

5. I don't really mind the word "queer" anymore.

Years ago, I was offended by it, but the word has been forcibly taken back by actual queers. I applaud them for that. The day a successful TV show proudly used the word "queer" in it's title was a step in the right direction for all of us. "Queer" means "queer". It's antiquated, derisive definition is no longer applicable. Cheers to queers!

[La_Serpiente]

6. From what I understand

my younger generation does not care about wheter one is GLBT or not. We really don't care. There are some that "tease", but they are just stupid.

We use queer, gay, lesbian, every term there is. However, we don't like it when other people tie in negative statements and those words together. We just tell them to screw off. Some of them usually fight them in the end.

Like if someone came up to me and asked?

ARe you queer?

I would have no problem.

But if someone came up to me and said straight out "Your Queer and you a fucking asshole because of it" I would start snapping like a dog on a full moon.

Just my take on it.

[AquariDem]

7. It's become a total catch-all category

for anyone who differs in any way from the "straight" norm. It can include gays, lesbians, bisexuals, transgendered or transvestite or transsexual citizens, people into heavy s/m or other fetishes, polyamorous people, heterosexuals who slept with the same sex once, etc., etc., etc. I'm not saying this is a bad thing, but it seems that nowadays to call yourself "queer" is to identify yourself with all these other categories. For simplicity's sake, I just call myself a lesbian with slight bi tendencies.

[dsc]

8. I hate the word

I used to hear it over and over again in middle school and early high school. To this day I can remember the utter humiliation I experienced in a nearly daily basis. That said, it is clear that there is a new defintion for the word. I guess I will have to change with the times.

[piece sine]

9. I do not bear the yoke of my oppressors

please don't call me a queer, especially if you're gay. And I'm not a "girlfriend" either. I love the ladies but I'm far from one myself. I like my gender...A LOT!

[WeirdSceneGoldmine]

10. I think it's too narrow a definition

One can be normal some of the time and "queer" at other times. It's like appetite...there's more to eating than bread and water.

[Skip Intro]

11. should any words be banned?

[OneBlueSky]

12. I've never liked the word . . .

primarily because of its negative connotations . . . used generically, queer has always meant odd, different, not normal, so when gays use it to deccribe themselves they're buying into being odd, different, not normal . . . I understand the concept of reclaiming the word in order to take away its power, but in this case I think it was just a bad idea . . . by calling ourselves queer, we're taking on the generic definition of the word to describe ourselves, and that definition has always had negative connotations . . . jmho, of course, and I understand that others see it differently . . . I believe that people can call themselves anything they want; I just choose not to call myself queer . . .

[DemoTex]

13. I'm queer

However, I am 100% heterosexual. I am a queer bird, though. For 12 years I did not own a TV. I listen to nothing but classical music. OK, the occasional 60's rock. I played the upright bass in a swing band in college, and I fought fraternities at every turn. I am virtually debt-free and I have been married to the same beautiful Ph.D. (from Ga Tech) for 30 years.

I have a gay brother, so I don't take this lightly. He is a radiologist. He agrees with me on the co-opting of the language. Queer and gay have other meanings. He and I will - and do - use them, in all contexts.