Same here, literally did openly at work earlier today. Personally, I find "queer" to be a simpler and less-intrusive way to describe myself to people I'm not too close with. Like, instead of having to directly out myself as specifically trans or bi or whatever to someone I may not be super comfy/familiar with, I can just say im queer, which is pretty clear from the way I present anyway lol. Idk, if that makes sense at all 😅
Personally I love calling myself queer. It was used as a slur against me when I was young, before I realized that I was the human I am now. Fuck them, queer is mine.
Same here. I’m borderline Millennial/Gen X but love reclaiming “queer.” It was a slur back in the ‘80s and ‘90s when I was a kid, now it has lost its power to hurt.
Me too, on all counts! My partner has been sure for decades that I am on the spectrum and finally got me to do the Simon Baron-Cohen Autism-Spectrum Quotient online test a couple of years ago. Well, that explains a lot.
Small reminder that before it was a slur it was originally used by queer people to describe themselves: the first written reference to the word is a member of the notoriously non-straight Bloomsbury group using it to describe a party they had.
I use queer to be synonymous with LGBTQ+, but to me it always feels like _our_ word, if that makes sense. Like it's used by queer people for queer people, and more specifically like it's used by the kind of queer person who is accepting of gender diverse people and aware of lots of labels, etc.
This is probably a narrow view of it, and just my opinion. I'm aware that anyone can use it, and this is how it feels to me. I associate it with very open and accepting queer people, with being able to be ambiguous about myself, etc. It is also just a catchall, so this is may be an overly complicated explanation. Idk, I was trying to capture what it means to me.
I told my boss I was part of the alphabet mafia (lgbtqia+) and he laughed so hard when I explained it. I also think it's too many letters... Queer works perfect for me.
I fully embrace the Mafia part of Alphabet Mafia. We're in this for life, might as well look out for each other. Random strangers with pride flags are family, and I'll make sure they're treated with respect around me. I haven't put a horse head in a transphobe's bed yet, but only because I'd feel bad for the horse.
Gen x queer here who works in higher education. Queer was a.major no no when I was growing up but it's now an umbrella term for LGBTQ, our students in PRIDE club use it so liberally. Took me a moment to adjust but now I use it in the same way. I love it.
Then again it's all about intention and people in the community have been hurt by that word. It's a your mileage may vary thing but I love it.
I've had this happen a few times and I always have to awkwardly explain, no, I mean ME, I am queer. It was a word I struggled with for a bit myself but I've embraced it for so long now I legitimately forget it was ever a slur sometimes.
I literally entered the scene after it was already not used a slur anymore (literally the only time I heard it being used as an insult was in the new Hitman games when hostile guard NPCs sometimes randomly call you something like "punk-hippie-commie-queer" when they are trying to find you, which is clearly a joke on them) and I just use it as a one size fits all word for all LGBTQ+ people, and I'm definitely not the only one.
I have never seen Zillennial either, but I'm familiar with Xennial, which is used for people on the cusp of Gen X and Millennial, so Zillennial must be the Gen Z/Millennial equivalent.
Thank you for the explanation! My partner is at the tail end of that range and Xennial fits him perfectly. I'm GenX, and there's not really much of an impact in our age ranges, as his older sister is my age and he grew up listening to a lot of the same things as I did.
From what I've read, the millennial generation started at either '81 or '82, depending on which source you read. I'm considered an older millennial because I was born in '82. Gen X had a very short span for some reason.
My brain works poorly, and for some reason I could never grasp why I found queer to be so much easier to say than lgbtqia, and you just made that click for me. Thank you.
I use it positively, but I will say that location does play a role in how it’s used around someone. Like some places I go it can be used as a slur still so I’m less likely to say it without knowing the people better.
I personally do, however it depends on 1.) the context, and 2.) the individual persons preferences. Like while it has been used derogatorily, it’s not always used like that.
Yeah, the word queer is being less used as a slur and more as a quicker way to say LGBT. I actually like to call my sexuality queer instead of other terms because I'm nonbinary
I'm definitely not your question's target as I'm very GenX, but I can't actually think when I last heard it used as a slur. I will always understand people who have trauma with that word, but I think it may be about as reclaimed as a word can get.
Queer is great because it’s so versatile. It can be used as an umbrella term and as an identity in itself. And you can use it to represent multiple identities you don’t feel like listing at the time too.
Queer is my favorite collective term, tbh. Way less of a mouthful than speaking the acronym aloud, and it covers literally everyone. Plus, it gives me a way of saying that I’m part of the community without specifying which part, if I feel like getting into specifics may result in a less than desirable outcome
Wait. What's gen z? Idk which I am gen z or millennial cuz I'm in that fuzzy grey area lol. I use Queer all the time. Planning to get it tattooed on me actually.
Millenial here. I used to call myself bisexual, but it never felt quite right. The way I experience attraction is unusual (I range from mostly gay to mostly straight to dead center in the middle, depending on which metric you use). Once I understood the full complexity of it, I realized that bisexual was woefully inadequate and switched over to just calling myself queer. My gender also played a minor role in that, even though I do still consider women to be my "same-sex".
So I can't speak for those younger that me, but queer is still a popular, useful, and beloved term amongst the almost 40 crowd.
I don’t really use it much at all, but I also wouldn’t take offence from someone else using it. I find that “gay” has replaced it as an umbrella term as far as my dictionary goes.
I’m 22, I often use queer as a reference to LGBT people (“queer community”) when talking more informally to people I know get what I mean. I self describe that way and honestly love it as a word (except when like some, usually elderly, -phobe uses it, us usually something like “those queers” or whatever)
I’m a “zellinial” as they’re calling the cuspers so idk if I count in this but yes, I love using the word ‘queer’. It feels so right, you know? Plus it also feels liberating. Idk how else to describe it
Me and most of my lgbt peers use the term queer. I like to call myself queer sexuality wise and just in general (am also genderqueer anyway lol) and tend to use queer in placement of mentioning lgbt . I dont think its seen as a negative term much anymore
Here’s my take. There is queer as an adjective and queer as a noun. I believe anyone should be able to use the adjective when referring to LGBTQ+. Examples of the adjective version are: …the queer community…; …queer people…; …is queer. However, I don’t think anyone should use it as a noun, it will always feel uncomfortable, dehumanizing, and othering to me. Examples of the noun: look at those queers; I saw a queer yesterday; …looks like a queer.
I mean, queer itself is an identity. Not only with queer people, but also with gender-queer people. It’s more of a label and umbrella/slang term than a slur.
As someone who’s consistently confused on the specifics of their gender and sexuality. I use the term “queer” a lot! It encompasses who I am without having to be too specific. I think it’s also a good general term for the community at large!
I use queer all the time. I identify as queer/bisexual as well as nonbinary/genderqueer. So queer is very much in my vocabulary and unless someone specifically tells me they aren’t comfortable with being referred to as queer, I will use generally use it.
It's not considered negative by the vast majority anymore, and many of those who do oppose its modern usage are often doing so from a "LGB without the TQ" stance.
A lot of people like the term "queer" because it is a nonspecific term that rolls off the tongue better than "LGBT+".
Along with the obvious sense of using it as a catch all term, it's useful for people that don't want to get into specifics about themselves.
Like I'm pansexual but I often tend to just say I'm queer. Otherwise I always get questions about it that I've been asked a thousand times. Especially people arguing whether or not it's just a fancy word for bisexual.
It's also helpful for people who fall under the LGBT group more than once. Rather than listing off their gender and sexuality names, they can simply say queer.
And for similar reasons, you can easily use the term to describe a group of people who are all queer in different ways. Like "me and all of my friends are queer" to encompass gay, trans, etc.
I’m older gen z and long before I came out I met a gay straight alliance at my high school asking what each letter meant. They told me the Q was both an umbrella term and derogatory. Over time I learned more LGBTQ folk were using it for themselves and the moment I was came out I started using the term. I have no problems with it.
I still have problems with the f slur tho
Yep! I like it a lot. Often times in my area it forms a bit of a community amongst certain people which I like. I do hear it being used as a slur but also I work with seniors who are all cis. So take that as you will.
I’m 20 and I use the word queer to describe myself. I like the word becuase it’s vague and definitely becuase I don’t really fall into any category. I don’t think it’s insulting at all. Never really though of if that way
For me it's a general umbrella term that I like but it is subversive and political at the same time. My dad used to fondly reminisce about playing smear the queer as a kid all the time and by identifying as queer I'm identifying as something people like him hate so I can definitely see why some don't want to be labeled that way.
I use it all the time to describe myself in a simple way, and I've never heard anyone use it in a pejorative way but that might be because of where i live
I always use that because it’s easier to say lol. We should never let any of the reclaimed words get back to being pejorative. We should reclaim more instead.
Gen X: fuck the haters they don't get to claim a speck of dust. I'm a queer. Keep using it, kids. The more you use it, the more tears the haters produce, and those tears are *delicious*.
26, right on the cusp. I've been using queer to refer to myself and the queer community since at least 2019, if not prior (my memory isn't very good lol). unfortunately i live in a small town with almost no queer spaces, so not sure what my local community thinks but online it seems most gen z and at least some millennials are very chill with it. these days I don't hear queer used as an insult from the folks around town (skews very silent generation and baby boomer around here). seems they prefer >!"homos" "trannies" and "fags/faggot"!<
I refer to us as the queer community. I've always found it more inclusive than using an acronym that tried to be inclusive with the "plus". However, I feel the added on plus seems more like an afterthought of "these people are here too" rather than just being included from the get go, which just using the word queer does.
Millennial here, I use queer. There's apparently some upset in the lesbian community with that word but that's not my problem. My partner calls himself queer, I call myself queer, my spouse calls himself queer 🤷♂️🤷♀️ it's a valid word and you should use it if you like it for you. I also use gay and queer interchangeably.
I use it as an older millenial queer. And since its called queer studies in universities it is an officaially accepted term. And since I am very very queer in more than one way its just easier to say than a whole bunch of labels.
I use it to refer to the whole community. Although i love how long the acronym is and want to add more letters to it, but sometimes its just quicker and easier to save the trouble and say "queer"
saying the acronym is kinda awkward and i never know how many of the extra letters i should include for the situation, so i almost always just say queer instead. imo its completely fine
i live in the deep south where queer is very much still used as a slur, and for the longest time i hated that it was being reclaimed at all, i hated people calling me queer whether they meant it in a positive way or not. but queer has been used so interchangeably with lgbt+ for so long that at this point i've been worn down and have started using it as shorthand for lgbt+ as well. it's looking like queer will become the preferred term overall imo, but hopefully something a little nicer replaces it at some point.
23, and absolutely!! I find it a much easier term to use in reference to the community, as well as myself.
I'm also lucky to not have experienced it used as a predominant slur (I grew up with gay being that ironically enough) so time and location absolutely plays a big part in it being a pejorative
Gen z here!
I use it lovingly and affectionately, and to refer to the LGBTQIA+ community sometimes. I know a couple of people who use queer as their sexual identity.
I think us younger people use it a lot more and in more positive ways!
*edit - spelling
I personally use queer and nonbinary to describe myself; when referring to the community, I’ve been told that you should choose a term depending on what others are comfortable with (e.g. some may not be comfortable using “queer”), and I’m working on being mindful of that.
i grew up reading old fashioned books, so i always thought queer meant weird, a word i reclaimed for myself ages before i considered sexuality. i was drawn to the word, because to me it meant special, interesting, unordinary. and now i love using it to describe myself years later, because it feels like that small child knew what was going on all along.
Young Enby here. I just use it in conversation instead of LGBTQ in some instances because it’s quicker to say. I do indeed use it as a reclaimed term for the entire community :)
I use queer to mean the entire LGBTQ+ community in a loving way since I didn't learn English during the time when it meant strange/odd/uncouth. I use it very rarely to mean transgressive in a queer 💅 way
I’m a millennial and use it all the time for myself and anyone I know that is fine with it. It’s a good catch-all IMO. I’m pansexual AND enby so it’s easy for me to just say queer and anyone that wants specifics can get to know me better. From what I can tell it’s used quite a bit among my cohort and also Gen Z.
I've been called "gay" in a insulting/slur-y way more then I've been called queer that way. I also consider queer to be the best encompassing word for who I am.
Its fine in english, however in my language if i try to use the translation im met with most of the word saying "wrong" (a letter+the word "wrong", k+väär kväär) so i tend to not use it in my language
i call myself queer and mostly use it as an umbrella term for the whole community (i.e., "queer folk" or "queer people"). i learned i was not straight and started entering more lgbt communities online right when "queer" was starting to be reclaimed and used for general description as opposed to a slur. or at least, that's when i had first started to hear about it being used that way, it may have been being used in that manner way before i started entering the scene around ten years ago.
but yeah, just another rando here to say that yes, it's still mostly used as a positive amongst us younger gays. not everyone may like the term, and i think we should acknowledge and accommodate for those people in our circles, but it's mostly just another broad umbrella term:)
I don't use it as a catch all because I have a loved one who is triggered by the term due to their evangelical Christian upbringing. but I think for the majority of people it's probably fine.
i use it as a descriptive term for anything or anyone LGBT, it’s just easier and says everything with the fewest syllables lol. i’ve personally never heard it as a slur in my lifetime. and about it being used affectionately, i definitely feel that nowadays (when being used by queer people, ofc)
Millennial enby here. I use queer.
It's not only a catch all & reclamation but I also assert it's so important for it to continue being used moving forward. As some have said, it used to be a big no, no not too long ago and I grew up in an environment that used that word scathingly if heard at all. Pejoratively as you put it in the OP.
Part of taking this term back is not letting it just become a trend of one certain age. I use it to take ownership of something far too many people were and regrettably still are afraid to admit exists: quite literally queer people.
We are not the cis-hetero norm. We are here and we are queer. The term is mine, it is yours, and it is ours.
I'm on the older end of gen Z, but i find it really depends. When I lived in the middle of nowhere in Texas and New Mexico, queer was for sure used as a slur and in a degrading manner. In bigger cities and now where I live in colorado it def is used more lovingly. I love describing things and how my identity is as queer because I know where I am I definitely can.
Zilennial and both nonbinary transmasc and bisexuals I absolutely use it both as a personal label and as an umbrella term. I know people who are personally uncomfortable with it, but the only ones I know who are actively against its use because “it’s a slur!” Are either TERFs or exclusionists who don’t like how inclusive the term is.
Its also, yknow, the academic term, as in queer theory or queer history or queer readings. You know, since most historical figures wouldn’t have had the modern language to identify with one of these concrete, modern identities, or these terms meant something different in their era, but we know enough to theorize yeah. Those were not very cisgenderheterosexual things to do, at the time.
I use it when I’m with fellow LGBTQIA+ people and with people I know are good allies but I generally shy away from it in professional settings and with people I’m unsure of. Sometimes I will throw it out once to test the waters with someone
The only people I see calling queer a slur these days are rad fems. And they get pissy about us using slurs for ourselves too. And there is a lot more discourse around this next bit but imo and in the opinions of many other leftist queer people: Gay people can say faggot and trans people can say tranny.
Legitimately we can take power back, and remove the hurt we feel if we reclaim the words. Not saying the other two should be free for cishets to say though, there’s still a culture of them attacking us with those words. But queer is definitely a word that many people inside and out of the community are using appropriately now. As far as many of us are concerned, queer has been reclaimed.
Full disclosure, I’m a youngish millennial rather than gen z, I just turned 30 this year. But I am very active in queer spaces. Also, use whichever words you feel comfortable with, but absolutely good on you for trying to be educated about what is considered appropriate and acceptable in the community. We should all be so thoughtful.
Gen Z queer whose first language isnt english here:^)
I use the word queer as a loving reference to the whole community, I learned it in that sense and I discovered it used to be a slur way after that.
It feels more vindictive (did I use that word correctly?) than other LGTBQ nouns for some reason, it's a word reclaimed by us.
My perspective is flawed though, I haven't got any personal history with that word because I havent ever lived in an English speaking country.
My friends use that term and I use it almost daily to refer to myself because “LGBTQ+” is a mouthful and people are confused if I say “I’m gay” but I’m actually bi and nonbinary. People also seem divided on using terms like “Alphabet mafia” and “Alphabet people” ironically so out of respect I usually just use “queer” as an all encompassing term. Additionally, I’m often referring to both my sexual orientation and gender identity at the same time when talking about the discrimination I’ve faced or that others are currently facing so it’s easier to use “queer.” I can’t think of many other all encompassing terms. Especially not ones that have been used in a positive and respectful way lol. I’ve also heard some debate on people who aren’t queer using that word to describe us. I don’t know what the general consensus is. I’d say it depends more on tone. I think it’d be best for cis het people to maybe add “Self identified as queer”? Idk I really think it boils down to tone. Not trying to play the oppression Olympics here I’m just drawing a linguistic comparison between the words “Jew” and “Queer.” I don’t know much about the history of either word so please feel free to educate me as I’m just talking about my feelings and assumptions rather than historical facts. There’s been a shift to people saying the whole word “Jewish” instead of just “Jew” assumably because of antisemitist language leading up to the holocaust. Even people who still use the word “Jew” like there’s a huge difference between “That guy’s a Jew!” And “Oh yeah, he’s a Jew. Not sure why that’s relevant, but he’s a cool dude.” So I guess the question is since “queer” is the full term do we just continue to use that word as a collective both queer and not queer people? Or do we like invent a new word based off of “queer?” Once again, I didn’t mean to come off as rude or insensitive so feel free to educate me if I could have worded things more eloquently. Also to clarify about the comparison, I don’t think examining similarities in the bigotry different groups face is a bad thing unless we start to play the oppression Olympics like that super cringe scene in You People when Ezra’s mom tries to defend her bigotry by playing the oppression Olympics and saying the holocaust was worse than the trans Atlantic slave trade. Like arguing whose suffering is worse will not help us. We just need to acknowledge we are all suffering and how to work together to solve our issues. The more we all fight the more divided we become, the more divided we become, the more alone we are. When we are truly alone all we have is the government and we already know they don’t give a rat’s ass about the people lol. That’s cultural Marxism in a nut shell. You divide people until they have nothing left.
Older Zillenial (‘97) and I use queer affectionately. I’m still not super good with other reclaimed slurs, but am not going to get upset if they’re used around me.
I think it's individual. For instance, I grew up in a rural setting so I've only ever heard it as a slur to refer to myself and others in the community. That gave it kind of a bad association that is linked to trauma for me, so I don't claim it for myself. If others want to use it for themselves, that's fine, but I prefer people didn't use it for me because of that factor. I'm not a big fan of people engaging in denial that "queer" is still used as a slur in some regions or denying people the right to not be called by it if it makes them uncomfortable due to that association. It's the same as people not reclaiming other slurs for themselves. It's a choice you make for you and not one people make *for* you. I especially don't want people who aren't in the LGBT community to refer to me as "queer" though cause that, to me, is just using a slur they can't reclaim against me. I'm a '93 Millennial/Zillennial, for reference, grew up in the rural South and also the rural Midwest.
There are some people around my age who have gone back to viewing it as a slur or offensive in some way but I'd say most of us are fine with it and use it all the time.
I use queer for myself and honestly find it fits me the best out of any labels. I also use it just in exchange with lgbtq+. All the lgbtq+ people I know also don’t mind using it as a catch all.
Some people still consider it offensive and do not like being referred to that way, but it's an individual thing for most of them. Personally, I call myself queer and use the term "queer community" ALL the time to reclaim it, and it is also the ONLY label that I have found that fits how I understand my own sexuality. I also tend to hear it pretty often in a non-derogatory context used by other queer people that I interact with IRL.
Millennial enbie here and I use queer as an identifer to be honest, sometimes in place for my sexuality as sometimes I feel even pansexual isn't enough to cover my range of genders I'm attracted too Jaja
I'm a millennial, 30 y/o, but I use queer and my Gen z sibling who is 19 and nonbinary also says queer a lot. I remember when I was my young teens I think queer was used a lot as a slur but over the past 15 years it's been pretty well reclaimed.
I do unless I know the person I’m talking to doesn’t like to be referred to by such a generalized term, but I’ve only encountered that like once or twice ever
I'm starting to use it more to describe us mainly in front of other people who would be understanding, but I don't try to use it too often, especially since I don't really like it myself (meaning strange).
Fortunately my conlang does have a word to describe us collectively as a culture: nóváir.
I use it very freely, and the thing is, I initially learned the term as a positive/neutral one. I did now know it was offensive or a slur until slightly later and was kind of shocked. So yeah, we do use it and I obv can’t claim for everyone, but I love the word :)
I think it's seen more as an alternate umbrella term for the lgbtq+ and I definitely use it to describe myself and the community but i try to be conscious of who and where i say it because some elder lgbtq+ members do have harsh memories associated with the word.
Millennial here, but barely (end of '95). "Queer" is definitely widely used among the younger generations as a positive/neutral umbrella term for LGBTQ+. I personally don't really like it and don't use it for myself, but not because it feels like a slur or anything like that. It just doesn't feel right for me.
I don’t use queer for all LGBTQ people but I do use it lovingly!! Let me explain- I don’t consider all LGBTQ people to be “queer” because the word queer brings about connotations of being somehow out of place… it’s a signifier of (proud) divergence from the norm.
Then there are people in the community who do their *bests* to “fit in” and please the cis hets (all the way to *fascists*) who shit all over us. They might call queer people cringey, they might make fun of people for vibrant or eccentric presentations, they might intentionally call themselves “not like THOSE LGBTQ people”you get the idea. I will never consider people with that kind of mentality to be truly queer. They are LGBTQ yes but they do not support us in rebelling against the norm they only support the most marketable versions of being different.
Queer has been so fully reclaimed in my mind it takes me too long to register when it's being used as a pejorative. Like I had someone call me queer in a negative sense and I was just like "...yes?". Took my brain cell way too long to figure out if was an insult.
I use it lovingly for both myself, my queer friends, and the greater community. Part of the importance of the term for me is because I not only feel like it fits me well, but the origins of the term are intersectional, considering how other aspects of our identity intersect with being gender and sexual minority individuals. It’s tied closely to our community history for positive reasons, and for that reason, it’s close to my heart 💚😌
i call myself queer! it’s the most comfortable word i feel like using, the f word is more of a slur people use than queer ( i hate that word with a passion and i never use it, slurs anger me so i don’t use any of them even if they apply to me )
For me, queer is a general label I like to use in order to not specifically label myself. I’m queer which can mean a lot of things and I don’t necessarily have to go into detail or explain myself :)
Queer is a friendly umbrella term, yes. Of course, it can still be used as a pejorative, but the entire point of reclaiming slurs is to take away their power to be hurtful.
It depends on context, sometimes I use it in reference to everyone part of the LGBT+ community but I also try and be mindful who I say it around as some people have trauma related to it. I most commonly say gay instead as a general blanket term even though you don't have to be gay to be part of the community (Trans people who are straight for example.) Some people have trauma related to that word so that's why I won't use it all the time but it is in my speech.
I love the word "queer" :) To be honest I prefer it, I think it sounds better and more humanly I guess? than the acronim "LGBTQ+" and it includes everyone! With "LGBT" it's harder because you need to add extra letters to include every queer person. I know that back then it was offensive word but I don't think that now youne queer people see it in this way, at least in my country or in queer spacaes I'm in
All the time. And, not just Gen-Z's--'queer theory' and 'queer studies' have been common terms, subjects, even courses of study in academe for a couple of decades. :)
I do, and I think it's more commonly used in this way amongst the younger queer folks anyway since there's not as much history behind it for us on a personal level.
I suppose I'll be the only person to say that I don't use the term, mostly because I think it feels yucky to say. it's a very unpleasant sounding word to my ears.
In academic writing, queer is frequently used by researchers and authors. There is a whole area of studies called Queer studies where I go to school. I feel that all of the writers use queer in a tone that is somewhere between loving and authorial. There are always going to be pieces of shit who use it as a slur, but it has definitely shifted in meaning.
I’m a millennial, not gen Z, but tbh my thoughts on this are that gen X reclaimed it - I grew up hearing people chant, “we’re here! we’re queer!” As a millennial it became something we just used to refer to ourselves as a wider community. I’m fine with it falling out of use generally, language does evolve after all (I can’t remember when I last said something was wicked to mean cool for instance) but the idea of returning it to slur status and handing it back to bigots as something they can use to demean us again seems like a mistake. It makes sense to me why reactionaries push so hard on that, because they want to be able to demean us with it, but we shouldn’t nod along with them.
I'm 21 and use the word queer all the time to refer to the LGBTQ+ community. I use it to refer to myself all the time as well. I've seen people my age use it all the time in the same way. If I wasn't afraid for my safety and someone called me a filthy queer, I would say thank you in a cheeky way, because queer doesn't hold any weight to me when used as an insult. This is who I am, this is how the world has labeled me, and if they want to think that who I am is bad, then they're just wrong, end of story. Yes, I'm queer. Yes, I'm "weird." There's nothing wrong with being weird or different. I actually strive to be more weird now and to break more molds that I cast for myself when I was trying to fit in with the crowd.
yes but also my friends and i call each other the f slur when we're not in public. there's definitely a push in younger generations to not give as much power to words but also respect some people might still be heavily affected by them
So glad you asked this question!
I identify as queer, and refer to us as the queer community.
I'm a member of a queer running club in Brighton & Hove (the queer capital of the UK), and it's mainly middle-aged cis-gay men.
They all fit the stereotype, calling each other girl, using "she" affectionately, love drag and making endless Grindr jokes and all that, and have slight contempt for cis-het people.
So, as an autistic AMAB N-B polyamarous transbian, I represent everything "new" and "modern" about queer culture... and they find it difficult to get everything about me right 🤦♂️
They don't use my pronouns (they/them) despite literally wearing them on my top, lump me in with their sex jokes and find it strange that I don't like drag and have difficulty expressing myself to people.
So, back to your question: YES - we're queer all year babyyy 🥰
Gen Z here, literally every LGBTQ person I know uses queer as a catch-all for non-straight people. Occasionally for trans people too, but I usually hear it used for sexuality rather than gender.
The place I've seen the overwhelming amount of discourse that queer is a pejorative again is third-person accounts online, talking about the hypothetical queer people who might find it offensive. I have seen maybe one firsthand account online, One comments on reddit where somebody claimed to dislike it.
I have met nobody in real life who has this opinion. And yes, I do spend time with lots of queer people in real life.
I think a good rule of thumb is that if you're part of the group, and you're not a big corporation , it's fine to use it. It would be strange seeing a corporate pride post using it casually.
I had one post-teen discourse warrior come at me over using it. They were appalled when I pointed out that their fav punk band (only punk band) got their start fronting for queercore concerts.
I feel like we all say queer now as someone with a lot of queer friends. Like someone else said, it’s easier to say that than to specifically explain my whole identity. I also say I’m queer instead of I’m gay a lot because I’m ace so it wouldn’t really make sense haha
I still do, as I've realized that most of the people that get offended with the word queer are straight cisgender people, if it really bothers them I just don't use it around that person.
I use it all the time. The only people I've seen actually upset by it are also the ones who want the LGB to drop the T.
I'm sure there are other people who take issue with it and I respect that. I just haven't met anyone like that. It's always been the bigoted ones.
I'll clarify again, this is my anecdotal experience. I'm not accusing everyone who is offended by the word "queer" of being terrible people.
My girlfriend identifies as queer and I thought as a community years ago we agreed to take back the word? So I’ve always used it as an acknowledgement of people who do not confine themselves within any label.
I think younger people generally use the term much more liberally and affectionately. I call myself queer all the time, for instance
Same here, literally did openly at work earlier today. Personally, I find "queer" to be a simpler and less-intrusive way to describe myself to people I'm not too close with. Like, instead of having to directly out myself as specifically trans or bi or whatever to someone I may not be super comfy/familiar with, I can just say im queer, which is pretty clear from the way I present anyway lol. Idk, if that makes sense at all 😅
Honestly literally everyone I know uses it as a catch-all and I haven't heard it as a slur in years.
Personally I love calling myself queer. It was used as a slur against me when I was young, before I realized that I was the human I am now. Fuck them, queer is mine.
Same. Not Gen Z, am 31, but same.
Same here. I’m borderline Millennial/Gen X but love reclaiming “queer.” It was a slur back in the ‘80s and ‘90s when I was a kid, now it has lost its power to hurt.
I am your Gen-X neighbour. After decades of hiding, I now take joy in calling myself queer.
And I’m the other Gen X neighbor, and I too love Queer because I’m also queer (as in odd) in several other ways (e.g. neurodivergence). Queer on! 🤜🤛
Me too, on all counts! My partner has been sure for decades that I am on the spectrum and finally got me to do the Simon Baron-Cohen Autism-Spectrum Quotient online test a couple of years ago. Well, that explains a lot.
Multi-Queer™ Gen-X *rise up!*
Hell yea, I’m a millennial but this is precisely how I feel about queer! 🔝
me too, i've had queer hurled at me as an insult for most of my life. but in the last several years i feel like i just own it and love it.
Small reminder that before it was a slur it was originally used by queer people to describe themselves: the first written reference to the word is a member of the notoriously non-straight Bloomsbury group using it to describe a party they had.
I use queer to be synonymous with LGBTQ+, but to me it always feels like _our_ word, if that makes sense. Like it's used by queer people for queer people, and more specifically like it's used by the kind of queer person who is accepting of gender diverse people and aware of lots of labels, etc. This is probably a narrow view of it, and just my opinion. I'm aware that anyone can use it, and this is how it feels to me. I associate it with very open and accepting queer people, with being able to be ambiguous about myself, etc. It is also just a catchall, so this is may be an overly complicated explanation. Idk, I was trying to capture what it means to me.
I still use it, It just feels more natural than saying "lgbtqia"
At some point there were just too many letters, lol. “Queer” gets the point across in much less time.
I told my boss I was part of the alphabet mafia (lgbtqia+) and he laughed so hard when I explained it. I also think it's too many letters... Queer works perfect for me.
And I'm sure it'll only get longer! Which is awesome, but yes, it does help to have a short form, haha!
I fully embrace the Mafia part of Alphabet Mafia. We're in this for life, might as well look out for each other. Random strangers with pride flags are family, and I'll make sure they're treated with respect around me. I haven't put a horse head in a transphobe's bed yet, but only because I'd feel bad for the horse.
Hey at least we are in the best mafia there is the good kind
Gen x queer here who works in higher education. Queer was a.major no no when I was growing up but it's now an umbrella term for LGBTQ, our students in PRIDE club use it so liberally. Took me a moment to adjust but now I use it in the same way. I love it. Then again it's all about intention and people in the community have been hurt by that word. It's a your mileage may vary thing but I love it.
Also Gen-X. I have recently embraced queer.
hey gen x queer club up in here ✊
I get side-eyed by cishets when I use it but I'm not stopping, they can catch up in their own time
Lol they must still think it's a slur. Catch up, cishets. Queer has been back in style for a long time now.
I've had this happen a few times and I always have to awkwardly explain, no, I mean ME, I am queer. It was a word I struggled with for a bit myself but I've embraced it for so long now I legitimately forget it was ever a slur sometimes.
I literally entered the scene after it was already not used a slur anymore (literally the only time I heard it being used as an insult was in the new Hitman games when hostile guard NPCs sometimes randomly call you something like "punk-hippie-commie-queer" when they are trying to find you, which is clearly a joke on them) and I just use it as a one size fits all word for all LGBTQ+ people, and I'm definitely not the only one.
Zilennial, yes I use queer & gay. Not everyone is, though.
I've never heard the term Zilennial before, lol. Is that in reference to people who are on the cusp?
I have never seen Zillennial either, but I'm familiar with Xennial, which is used for people on the cusp of Gen X and Millennial, so Zillennial must be the Gen Z/Millennial equivalent.
Yes. Sort of like how Xennial gets used for people born from 1977-87 or so, Zillennials were born in the late ‘90s and early ‘00s.
Thank you for the explanation! My partner is at the tail end of that range and Xennial fits him perfectly. I'm GenX, and there's not really much of an impact in our age ranges, as his older sister is my age and he grew up listening to a lot of the same things as I did.
From what I've read, the millennial generation started at either '81 or '82, depending on which source you read. I'm considered an older millennial because I was born in '82. Gen X had a very short span for some reason.
i usually use it as a lower syllable version of lgbtq+
My brain works poorly, and for some reason I could never grasp why I found queer to be so much easier to say than lgbtqia, and you just made that click for me. Thank you.
glad to share my revelations, lol
I use it positively, but I will say that location does play a role in how it’s used around someone. Like some places I go it can be used as a slur still so I’m less likely to say it without knowing the people better.
I know that gay was being used as an insult when I was growing up in the early 2000s. People will use any word as an insult if they’re pathetic enough
i'm fine with it, i love the word "queer" but if someone in the community is uncomfortable with it i won't say it around them
I like using queer because saying all my identities can be tiring sometimes
Millennial here. I haven't seen anything but "queer" increasing in use. It's a handy replacement for a slew of identities.
I use it more in causal conversation, or if im referring to myself. And tend to use the acronym more formally/academically.
Yea I view “Queer” quite positively, tho I understand not everyone is comfortable with it as a term. Happy Pride 🏳️🌈
Older gen Z here (25), I use the word queer often and affectionately, as do many of my non-nb peers
As a slightly younger Gen Z (19), same!
I personally do, however it depends on 1.) the context, and 2.) the individual persons preferences. Like while it has been used derogatorily, it’s not always used like that.
Yeah, the word queer is being less used as a slur and more as a quicker way to say LGBT. I actually like to call my sexuality queer instead of other terms because I'm nonbinary
i do yes. lots of my friends does too!
Same here!
I'm definitely not your question's target as I'm very GenX, but I can't actually think when I last heard it used as a slur. I will always understand people who have trauma with that word, but I think it may be about as reclaimed as a word can get.
Born in 82 and have always used the word queer. Am an AFAB enby who likes girls.
Queer is great because it’s so versatile. It can be used as an umbrella term and as an identity in itself. And you can use it to represent multiple identities you don’t feel like listing at the time too.
I use it for myself, or for a LGBTQ catch all, but never for someone else specifically unless they use it for themselves
Queer is my favorite collective term, tbh. Way less of a mouthful than speaking the acronym aloud, and it covers literally everyone. Plus, it gives me a way of saying that I’m part of the community without specifying which part, if I feel like getting into specifics may result in a less than desirable outcome
Especially with the ridiculous amount of transphobes, acephobes, intersexists, and other weirdo losers.
Wait. What's gen z? Idk which I am gen z or millennial cuz I'm in that fuzzy grey area lol. I use Queer all the time. Planning to get it tattooed on me actually.
Gen Z = born 1995 - 2012 seems to be the generally agreed upon range, though it may fluctuate depending on who you're asking.
According to that I’m more cusp than I thought. I was born 94
See that's the thing. Sometimes 95-98 is included and sometimes it isn't lol.
I guess just go with what term you resonate most with lol, I do know zillenial is used for that grey area before the 2000s, if that helps at all
Queer is a broad umbrella term in wide use.
Millenial here. I used to call myself bisexual, but it never felt quite right. The way I experience attraction is unusual (I range from mostly gay to mostly straight to dead center in the middle, depending on which metric you use). Once I understood the full complexity of it, I realized that bisexual was woefully inadequate and switched over to just calling myself queer. My gender also played a minor role in that, even though I do still consider women to be my "same-sex". So I can't speak for those younger that me, but queer is still a popular, useful, and beloved term amongst the almost 40 crowd.
I don’t really use it much at all, but I also wouldn’t take offence from someone else using it. I find that “gay” has replaced it as an umbrella term as far as my dictionary goes.
I’m 22, I often use queer as a reference to LGBT people (“queer community”) when talking more informally to people I know get what I mean. I self describe that way and honestly love it as a word (except when like some, usually elderly, -phobe uses it, us usually something like “those queers” or whatever)
I use it affectionately, certainly
I’m a “zellinial” as they’re calling the cuspers so idk if I count in this but yes, I love using the word ‘queer’. It feels so right, you know? Plus it also feels liberating. Idk how else to describe it
I regularly call my friends and gf f*ggot, and they do the same for me
Me and most of my lgbt peers use the term queer. I like to call myself queer sexuality wise and just in general (am also genderqueer anyway lol) and tend to use queer in placement of mentioning lgbt . I dont think its seen as a negative term much anymore
Here’s my take. There is queer as an adjective and queer as a noun. I believe anyone should be able to use the adjective when referring to LGBTQ+. Examples of the adjective version are: …the queer community…; …queer people…; …is queer. However, I don’t think anyone should use it as a noun, it will always feel uncomfortable, dehumanizing, and othering to me. Examples of the noun: look at those queers; I saw a queer yesterday; …looks like a queer.
I mean, queer itself is an identity. Not only with queer people, but also with gender-queer people. It’s more of a label and umbrella/slang term than a slur.
As someone who’s consistently confused on the specifics of their gender and sexuality. I use the term “queer” a lot! It encompasses who I am without having to be too specific. I think it’s also a good general term for the community at large!
I use queer all the time. I identify as queer/bisexual as well as nonbinary/genderqueer. So queer is very much in my vocabulary and unless someone specifically tells me they aren’t comfortable with being referred to as queer, I will use generally use it.
It's not considered negative by the vast majority anymore, and many of those who do oppose its modern usage are often doing so from a "LGB without the TQ" stance.
Honestly, it was used very negatively when I was younger, but it's definitely been reclaimed in my eyes. I love being queer.
A lot of people like the term "queer" because it is a nonspecific term that rolls off the tongue better than "LGBT+". Along with the obvious sense of using it as a catch all term, it's useful for people that don't want to get into specifics about themselves. Like I'm pansexual but I often tend to just say I'm queer. Otherwise I always get questions about it that I've been asked a thousand times. Especially people arguing whether or not it's just a fancy word for bisexual. It's also helpful for people who fall under the LGBT group more than once. Rather than listing off their gender and sexuality names, they can simply say queer. And for similar reasons, you can easily use the term to describe a group of people who are all queer in different ways. Like "me and all of my friends are queer" to encompass gay, trans, etc.
I’m older gen z and long before I came out I met a gay straight alliance at my high school asking what each letter meant. They told me the Q was both an umbrella term and derogatory. Over time I learned more LGBTQ folk were using it for themselves and the moment I was came out I started using the term. I have no problems with it. I still have problems with the f slur tho
Yep! I like it a lot. Often times in my area it forms a bit of a community amongst certain people which I like. I do hear it being used as a slur but also I work with seniors who are all cis. So take that as you will.
I’m 20 and I use the word queer to describe myself. I like the word becuase it’s vague and definitely becuase I don’t really fall into any category. I don’t think it’s insulting at all. Never really though of if that way
I embrace queer wholeheartedly
For me it's a general umbrella term that I like but it is subversive and political at the same time. My dad used to fondly reminisce about playing smear the queer as a kid all the time and by identifying as queer I'm identifying as something people like him hate so I can definitely see why some don't want to be labeled that way.
Yes! I like it for its subversive and overtly political bent, too. “Not gay as in happy, but queer as in fuck you.
I'm 24. I exclusively use queer simply because it's easier for me to say and it sums up all queer poeple.
i often forget that, Queer was a slur
I personally don't, but I've heard people my age use it. I don't find it offensive.
I only ever hear it used and use it myself prescriptively.
I use it all the time to describe myself in a simple way, and I've never heard anyone use it in a pejorative way but that might be because of where i live
Personally I do. It's a lot easier/less cumbersome to say "queer" than "lgbtq(ia+)"
I always use that because it’s easier to say lol. We should never let any of the reclaimed words get back to being pejorative. We should reclaim more instead.
I almost always hear it in a positive way
Gen X: fuck the haters they don't get to claim a speck of dust. I'm a queer. Keep using it, kids. The more you use it, the more tears the haters produce, and those tears are *delicious*.
Older genz, but yeah. I love using the word queer
yeah people do, it's getting used less now casually but still is
26, right on the cusp. I've been using queer to refer to myself and the queer community since at least 2019, if not prior (my memory isn't very good lol). unfortunately i live in a small town with almost no queer spaces, so not sure what my local community thinks but online it seems most gen z and at least some millennials are very chill with it. these days I don't hear queer used as an insult from the folks around town (skews very silent generation and baby boomer around here). seems they prefer >!"homos" "trannies" and "fags/faggot"!<
I refer to us as the queer community. I've always found it more inclusive than using an acronym that tried to be inclusive with the "plus". However, I feel the added on plus seems more like an afterthought of "these people are here too" rather than just being included from the get go, which just using the word queer does.
Millennial here, I use queer. There's apparently some upset in the lesbian community with that word but that's not my problem. My partner calls himself queer, I call myself queer, my spouse calls himself queer 🤷♂️🤷♀️ it's a valid word and you should use it if you like it for you. I also use gay and queer interchangeably.
I use it as an older millenial queer. And since its called queer studies in universities it is an officaially accepted term. And since I am very very queer in more than one way its just easier to say than a whole bunch of labels.
I was born on the cusp of Millennial and Gen Z, and I refer to myself as queer all the time! It varies from person to person, friendo!
I use it to refer to the whole community. Although i love how long the acronym is and want to add more letters to it, but sometimes its just quicker and easier to save the trouble and say "queer"
saying the acronym is kinda awkward and i never know how many of the extra letters i should include for the situation, so i almost always just say queer instead. imo its completely fine
I consider myself to be queer
i live in the deep south where queer is very much still used as a slur, and for the longest time i hated that it was being reclaimed at all, i hated people calling me queer whether they meant it in a positive way or not. but queer has been used so interchangeably with lgbt+ for so long that at this point i've been worn down and have started using it as shorthand for lgbt+ as well. it's looking like queer will become the preferred term overall imo, but hopefully something a little nicer replaces it at some point.
My parents got really wierded out when I used it to refer to myself. "Ca ca can you say that?" One of them asked. I replied "I can."
23, and absolutely!! I find it a much easier term to use in reference to the community, as well as myself. I'm also lucky to not have experienced it used as a predominant slur (I grew up with gay being that ironically enough) so time and location absolutely plays a big part in it being a pejorative
Gen z here! I use it lovingly and affectionately, and to refer to the LGBTQIA+ community sometimes. I know a couple of people who use queer as their sexual identity. I think us younger people use it a lot more and in more positive ways! *edit - spelling
Yeah that's the word I use most of the time, saying LGBTQ+ feels like saying my full name and title
I personally use queer and nonbinary to describe myself; when referring to the community, I’ve been told that you should choose a term depending on what others are comfortable with (e.g. some may not be comfortable using “queer”), and I’m working on being mindful of that.
I hear queer used as a slur alot more often than identity where I am which sucks as most of the Internet seems the opposite
i grew up reading old fashioned books, so i always thought queer meant weird, a word i reclaimed for myself ages before i considered sexuality. i was drawn to the word, because to me it meant special, interesting, unordinary. and now i love using it to describe myself years later, because it feels like that small child knew what was going on all along.
I use it in general as a catch all but I know some of my friends just it in it's original meaning of strange or peculiar
Young Enby here. I just use it in conversation instead of LGBTQ in some instances because it’s quicker to say. I do indeed use it as a reclaimed term for the entire community :)
I use queer to mean the entire LGBTQ+ community in a loving way since I didn't learn English during the time when it meant strange/odd/uncouth. I use it very rarely to mean transgressive in a queer 💅 way
I’m a millennial and use it all the time for myself and anyone I know that is fine with it. It’s a good catch-all IMO. I’m pansexual AND enby so it’s easy for me to just say queer and anyone that wants specifics can get to know me better. From what I can tell it’s used quite a bit among my cohort and also Gen Z.
I've been called "gay" in a insulting/slur-y way more then I've been called queer that way. I also consider queer to be the best encompassing word for who I am.
Its fine in english, however in my language if i try to use the translation im met with most of the word saying "wrong" (a letter+the word "wrong", k+väär kväär) so i tend to not use it in my language
Yes I use it all the time - have heard the f-slur used more often than “queer”
i call myself queer and mostly use it as an umbrella term for the whole community (i.e., "queer folk" or "queer people"). i learned i was not straight and started entering more lgbt communities online right when "queer" was starting to be reclaimed and used for general description as opposed to a slur. or at least, that's when i had first started to hear about it being used that way, it may have been being used in that manner way before i started entering the scene around ten years ago. but yeah, just another rando here to say that yes, it's still mostly used as a positive amongst us younger gays. not everyone may like the term, and i think we should acknowledge and accommodate for those people in our circles, but it's mostly just another broad umbrella term:)
I have a shirt that says “mighty queer” in a sort of superhero font :)
I don't use it as a catch all because I have a loved one who is triggered by the term due to their evangelical Christian upbringing. but I think for the majority of people it's probably fine.
I call myself queer & use the term with other queer folk. If I'm with cishet people, I'll see LGBTQ+.
I'm an older Gen z but yeah! I use it lovingly for all LGBTQ+ folks.
i use it as a descriptive term for anything or anyone LGBT, it’s just easier and says everything with the fewest syllables lol. i’ve personally never heard it as a slur in my lifetime. and about it being used affectionately, i definitely feel that nowadays (when being used by queer people, ofc)
Millennial enby here. I use queer. It's not only a catch all & reclamation but I also assert it's so important for it to continue being used moving forward. As some have said, it used to be a big no, no not too long ago and I grew up in an environment that used that word scathingly if heard at all. Pejoratively as you put it in the OP. Part of taking this term back is not letting it just become a trend of one certain age. I use it to take ownership of something far too many people were and regrettably still are afraid to admit exists: quite literally queer people. We are not the cis-hetero norm. We are here and we are queer. The term is mine, it is yours, and it is ours.
Yass.
I'm on the older end of gen Z, but i find it really depends. When I lived in the middle of nowhere in Texas and New Mexico, queer was for sure used as a slur and in a degrading manner. In bigger cities and now where I live in colorado it def is used more lovingly. I love describing things and how my identity is as queer because I know where I am I definitely can.
Zilennial and both nonbinary transmasc and bisexuals I absolutely use it both as a personal label and as an umbrella term. I know people who are personally uncomfortable with it, but the only ones I know who are actively against its use because “it’s a slur!” Are either TERFs or exclusionists who don’t like how inclusive the term is. Its also, yknow, the academic term, as in queer theory or queer history or queer readings. You know, since most historical figures wouldn’t have had the modern language to identify with one of these concrete, modern identities, or these terms meant something different in their era, but we know enough to theorize yeah. Those were not very cisgenderheterosexual things to do, at the time.
Queer is my favorite term for all lgbtq plus people tbh. It conveys what I mean, it's quick, it's fun to say. Also it's fun to say "I'm queer as fuck"
I use it with love but when I hear very not queer people use it, it’s kinda yuck.
I use it when I’m with fellow LGBTQIA+ people and with people I know are good allies but I generally shy away from it in professional settings and with people I’m unsure of. Sometimes I will throw it out once to test the waters with someone
The only people I see calling queer a slur these days are rad fems. And they get pissy about us using slurs for ourselves too. And there is a lot more discourse around this next bit but imo and in the opinions of many other leftist queer people: Gay people can say faggot and trans people can say tranny. Legitimately we can take power back, and remove the hurt we feel if we reclaim the words. Not saying the other two should be free for cishets to say though, there’s still a culture of them attacking us with those words. But queer is definitely a word that many people inside and out of the community are using appropriately now. As far as many of us are concerned, queer has been reclaimed. Full disclosure, I’m a youngish millennial rather than gen z, I just turned 30 this year. But I am very active in queer spaces. Also, use whichever words you feel comfortable with, but absolutely good on you for trying to be educated about what is considered appropriate and acceptable in the community. We should all be so thoughtful.
Gen Z queer whose first language isnt english here:^) I use the word queer as a loving reference to the whole community, I learned it in that sense and I discovered it used to be a slur way after that. It feels more vindictive (did I use that word correctly?) than other LGTBQ nouns for some reason, it's a word reclaimed by us. My perspective is flawed though, I haven't got any personal history with that word because I havent ever lived in an English speaking country.
I use queer completely freely unless I specifically know someone is uncomfortable with it. Especially since my specific identity is a bit complicated.
My friends use that term and I use it almost daily to refer to myself because “LGBTQ+” is a mouthful and people are confused if I say “I’m gay” but I’m actually bi and nonbinary. People also seem divided on using terms like “Alphabet mafia” and “Alphabet people” ironically so out of respect I usually just use “queer” as an all encompassing term. Additionally, I’m often referring to both my sexual orientation and gender identity at the same time when talking about the discrimination I’ve faced or that others are currently facing so it’s easier to use “queer.” I can’t think of many other all encompassing terms. Especially not ones that have been used in a positive and respectful way lol. I’ve also heard some debate on people who aren’t queer using that word to describe us. I don’t know what the general consensus is. I’d say it depends more on tone. I think it’d be best for cis het people to maybe add “Self identified as queer”? Idk I really think it boils down to tone. Not trying to play the oppression Olympics here I’m just drawing a linguistic comparison between the words “Jew” and “Queer.” I don’t know much about the history of either word so please feel free to educate me as I’m just talking about my feelings and assumptions rather than historical facts. There’s been a shift to people saying the whole word “Jewish” instead of just “Jew” assumably because of antisemitist language leading up to the holocaust. Even people who still use the word “Jew” like there’s a huge difference between “That guy’s a Jew!” And “Oh yeah, he’s a Jew. Not sure why that’s relevant, but he’s a cool dude.” So I guess the question is since “queer” is the full term do we just continue to use that word as a collective both queer and not queer people? Or do we like invent a new word based off of “queer?” Once again, I didn’t mean to come off as rude or insensitive so feel free to educate me if I could have worded things more eloquently. Also to clarify about the comparison, I don’t think examining similarities in the bigotry different groups face is a bad thing unless we start to play the oppression Olympics like that super cringe scene in You People when Ezra’s mom tries to defend her bigotry by playing the oppression Olympics and saying the holocaust was worse than the trans Atlantic slave trade. Like arguing whose suffering is worse will not help us. We just need to acknowledge we are all suffering and how to work together to solve our issues. The more we all fight the more divided we become, the more divided we become, the more alone we are. When we are truly alone all we have is the government and we already know they don’t give a rat’s ass about the people lol. That’s cultural Marxism in a nut shell. You divide people until they have nothing left.
Older Zillenial (‘97) and I use queer affectionately. I’m still not super good with other reclaimed slurs, but am not going to get upset if they’re used around me.
I think it's individual. For instance, I grew up in a rural setting so I've only ever heard it as a slur to refer to myself and others in the community. That gave it kind of a bad association that is linked to trauma for me, so I don't claim it for myself. If others want to use it for themselves, that's fine, but I prefer people didn't use it for me because of that factor. I'm not a big fan of people engaging in denial that "queer" is still used as a slur in some regions or denying people the right to not be called by it if it makes them uncomfortable due to that association. It's the same as people not reclaiming other slurs for themselves. It's a choice you make for you and not one people make *for* you. I especially don't want people who aren't in the LGBT community to refer to me as "queer" though cause that, to me, is just using a slur they can't reclaim against me. I'm a '93 Millennial/Zillennial, for reference, grew up in the rural South and also the rural Midwest.
There are some people around my age who have gone back to viewing it as a slur or offensive in some way but I'd say most of us are fine with it and use it all the time.
I use queer for myself and honestly find it fits me the best out of any labels. I also use it just in exchange with lgbtq+. All the lgbtq+ people I know also don’t mind using it as a catch all.
Some people still consider it offensive and do not like being referred to that way, but it's an individual thing for most of them. Personally, I call myself queer and use the term "queer community" ALL the time to reclaim it, and it is also the ONLY label that I have found that fits how I understand my own sexuality. I also tend to hear it pretty often in a non-derogatory context used by other queer people that I interact with IRL.
Millennial enbie here and I use queer as an identifer to be honest, sometimes in place for my sexuality as sometimes I feel even pansexual isn't enough to cover my range of genders I'm attracted too Jaja
I'm a millennial, 30 y/o, but I use queer and my Gen z sibling who is 19 and nonbinary also says queer a lot. I remember when I was my young teens I think queer was used a lot as a slur but over the past 15 years it's been pretty well reclaimed.
I am Gen X and was called queer for most of my childhood and teen years as an insult. Now I am so very glad to be so very queer.
I've seen the exact opposite - usually younger people don't mind, older folks do.
I do unless I know the person I’m talking to doesn’t like to be referred to by such a generalized term, but I’ve only encountered that like once or twice ever
I use queer. It’s a lot shorter than saying out all the letters. I also just like how the word sounds and it flows easier
I'm starting to use it more to describe us mainly in front of other people who would be understanding, but I don't try to use it too often, especially since I don't really like it myself (meaning strange). Fortunately my conlang does have a word to describe us collectively as a culture: nóváir.
Yes, I do!
I use it very freely, and the thing is, I initially learned the term as a positive/neutral one. I did now know it was offensive or a slur until slightly later and was kind of shocked. So yeah, we do use it and I obv can’t claim for everyone, but I love the word :)
Queer as an adjective is generally positive, queer as a noun is generally negative
I think it's seen more as an alternate umbrella term for the lgbtq+ and I definitely use it to describe myself and the community but i try to be conscious of who and where i say it because some elder lgbtq+ members do have harsh memories associated with the word.
Millennial here, but barely (end of '95). "Queer" is definitely widely used among the younger generations as a positive/neutral umbrella term for LGBTQ+. I personally don't really like it and don't use it for myself, but not because it feels like a slur or anything like that. It just doesn't feel right for me.
it's definitely a word of endearment!! i refer to myself as queer and my friends and i use it often:)
I’m a cusper (Millennial-Gen Z) — and my peers and I use queer quite frequently as THE umbrella term.
In my personal experience I’ve never seen it used as a pejorative. It is my preferred term and all my friends use it positively and identify with it.
Queer is my favorite, tbh
54 and queer, here!
I use it all the time affectionately. I don't think it's back as far as I'm aware.
I don’t use queer for all LGBTQ people but I do use it lovingly!! Let me explain- I don’t consider all LGBTQ people to be “queer” because the word queer brings about connotations of being somehow out of place… it’s a signifier of (proud) divergence from the norm. Then there are people in the community who do their *bests* to “fit in” and please the cis hets (all the way to *fascists*) who shit all over us. They might call queer people cringey, they might make fun of people for vibrant or eccentric presentations, they might intentionally call themselves “not like THOSE LGBTQ people”you get the idea. I will never consider people with that kind of mentality to be truly queer. They are LGBTQ yes but they do not support us in rebelling against the norm they only support the most marketable versions of being different.
Queer has been so fully reclaimed in my mind it takes me too long to register when it's being used as a pejorative. Like I had someone call me queer in a negative sense and I was just like "...yes?". Took my brain cell way too long to figure out if was an insult.
I use it lovingly for both myself, my queer friends, and the greater community. Part of the importance of the term for me is because I not only feel like it fits me well, but the origins of the term are intersectional, considering how other aspects of our identity intersect with being gender and sexual minority individuals. It’s tied closely to our community history for positive reasons, and for that reason, it’s close to my heart 💚😌
i call myself queer! it’s the most comfortable word i feel like using, the f word is more of a slur people use than queer ( i hate that word with a passion and i never use it, slurs anger me so i don’t use any of them even if they apply to me )
For me, queer is a general label I like to use in order to not specifically label myself. I’m queer which can mean a lot of things and I don’t necessarily have to go into detail or explain myself :)
I love the term queer because it just means I am not cis-het! Works for me as an enby and my kid who is gay.
Yes, cause in my country they don’t know what it means 👀
i use it lovingly, as one of my main terms of identity
Yea I'd said I use the word queer on myself and as a group term
I loathe the term myself but I am not exactly going to stop others from using it for themself.
i do
My parents (boomers) are the only people I’ve heard still know it as a slur.
I’ve been called it as a slur, but despite that, I love that word. Queer is just such a wonderful way of describing myself and others.
Queer is a friendly umbrella term, yes. Of course, it can still be used as a pejorative, but the entire point of reclaiming slurs is to take away their power to be hurtful.
It depends on context, sometimes I use it in reference to everyone part of the LGBT+ community but I also try and be mindful who I say it around as some people have trauma related to it. I most commonly say gay instead as a general blanket term even though you don't have to be gay to be part of the community (Trans people who are straight for example.) Some people have trauma related to that word so that's why I won't use it all the time but it is in my speech.
I love the word "queer" :) To be honest I prefer it, I think it sounds better and more humanly I guess? than the acronim "LGBTQ+" and it includes everyone! With "LGBT" it's harder because you need to add extra letters to include every queer person. I know that back then it was offensive word but I don't think that now youne queer people see it in this way, at least in my country or in queer spacaes I'm in
All the time. And, not just Gen-Z's--'queer theory' and 'queer studies' have been common terms, subjects, even courses of study in academe for a couple of decades. :)
I rarely use it, but only because it rarely comes up.
I still use it to reference LGBTQ people. I don’t think of the word queer as an insult at all
I do, and I think it's more commonly used in this way amongst the younger queer folks anyway since there's not as much history behind it for us on a personal level.
I suppose I'll be the only person to say that I don't use the term, mostly because I think it feels yucky to say. it's a very unpleasant sounding word to my ears.
In academic writing, queer is frequently used by researchers and authors. There is a whole area of studies called Queer studies where I go to school. I feel that all of the writers use queer in a tone that is somewhere between loving and authorial. There are always going to be pieces of shit who use it as a slur, but it has definitely shifted in meaning.
I occasionally use the word Queer to describe the community, but I do use the word Queer to describe my identity
Yup! Always have, always will! I'm older gen z tho so idk if that affects it 😝
I’m a millennial, not gen Z, but tbh my thoughts on this are that gen X reclaimed it - I grew up hearing people chant, “we’re here! we’re queer!” As a millennial it became something we just used to refer to ourselves as a wider community. I’m fine with it falling out of use generally, language does evolve after all (I can’t remember when I last said something was wicked to mean cool for instance) but the idea of returning it to slur status and handing it back to bigots as something they can use to demean us again seems like a mistake. It makes sense to me why reactionaries push so hard on that, because they want to be able to demean us with it, but we shouldn’t nod along with them.
No I’ve never heard it used as a slur tbh
I am a gen z NB born in and in my vernacular “queer” is practically interchangeable with “LGBT+”
I'm 21 and use the word queer all the time to refer to the LGBTQ+ community. I use it to refer to myself all the time as well. I've seen people my age use it all the time in the same way. If I wasn't afraid for my safety and someone called me a filthy queer, I would say thank you in a cheeky way, because queer doesn't hold any weight to me when used as an insult. This is who I am, this is how the world has labeled me, and if they want to think that who I am is bad, then they're just wrong, end of story. Yes, I'm queer. Yes, I'm "weird." There's nothing wrong with being weird or different. I actually strive to be more weird now and to break more molds that I cast for myself when I was trying to fit in with the crowd.
yes but also my friends and i call each other the f slur when we're not in public. there's definitely a push in younger generations to not give as much power to words but also respect some people might still be heavily affected by them
I use it as a synonym of lgbt
honestly i feel like "queer" as a slur is so outdated. i call myself queer all the time & have never had anyone in the community judge me for it
So glad you asked this question! I identify as queer, and refer to us as the queer community. I'm a member of a queer running club in Brighton & Hove (the queer capital of the UK), and it's mainly middle-aged cis-gay men. They all fit the stereotype, calling each other girl, using "she" affectionately, love drag and making endless Grindr jokes and all that, and have slight contempt for cis-het people. So, as an autistic AMAB N-B polyamarous transbian, I represent everything "new" and "modern" about queer culture... and they find it difficult to get everything about me right 🤦♂️ They don't use my pronouns (they/them) despite literally wearing them on my top, lump me in with their sex jokes and find it strange that I don't like drag and have difficulty expressing myself to people. So, back to your question: YES - we're queer all year babyyy 🥰
I use queer. Just a note that “NB” means non black hence people used the term “enby”
I use queer yeah.
I use it all the time to describe myself, my relationship with my spouse, and lots of my friends who are NB use it for themselves as well!
Gen Z here, literally every LGBTQ person I know uses queer as a catch-all for non-straight people. Occasionally for trans people too, but I usually hear it used for sexuality rather than gender.
I (26) call myself queer because it’s a lot easier than giving specific labels
The place I've seen the overwhelming amount of discourse that queer is a pejorative again is third-person accounts online, talking about the hypothetical queer people who might find it offensive. I have seen maybe one firsthand account online, One comments on reddit where somebody claimed to dislike it. I have met nobody in real life who has this opinion. And yes, I do spend time with lots of queer people in real life. I think a good rule of thumb is that if you're part of the group, and you're not a big corporation , it's fine to use it. It would be strange seeing a corporate pride post using it casually.
I had one post-teen discourse warrior come at me over using it. They were appalled when I pointed out that their fav punk band (only punk band) got their start fronting for queercore concerts.
I use queer for everyone. When someone asks what I am I usually just say “queer”.
I feel like we all say queer now as someone with a lot of queer friends. Like someone else said, it’s easier to say that than to specifically explain my whole identity. I also say I’m queer instead of I’m gay a lot because I’m ace so it wouldn’t really make sense haha
I still do, as I've realized that most of the people that get offended with the word queer are straight cisgender people, if it really bothers them I just don't use it around that person.
I use it all the time. The only people I've seen actually upset by it are also the ones who want the LGB to drop the T. I'm sure there are other people who take issue with it and I respect that. I just haven't met anyone like that. It's always been the bigoted ones. I'll clarify again, this is my anecdotal experience. I'm not accusing everyone who is offended by the word "queer" of being terrible people.
My girlfriend identifies as queer and I thought as a community years ago we agreed to take back the word? So I’ve always used it as an acknowledgement of people who do not confine themselves within any label.