Queer Is Not A Queer

The meaning gay has changed tremendously over time. In the past, the term gay was not used as frequently and as freely as it is used today. The term originated from the Old French and dates back to the 1600s, “Deriving ultimately from Germanic source” (Wikipedia). The word means “Joyful, carefree, bright and showy” (Wikipedia). Gay also means to be “Addicted to social pleasure and dissipations,” as a noun “of a person:

Martha Irvine, a graduate of the University of Michigan published an article titled Queer Evolution which talked about how the word “Queer” itself has evolved into the mainstream. Originally the word’s definition was to describe something as odd or weird. Society utilized the word “Queer” as an insult to the LGBTQ community. As more sexual orientations are being discovered, “Queer” became a more accepted word in the gay community in order to make things simpler. Irvine’s essay showed that whatever word we use, can affect a person depending on the intention, and the tone of how it’s being said. Irvine’s essay is very similar to Deborah Tannen’s essay You’re Wearing That which talks about the relationship between mother and daughter and how words have established expectations for women based on their appearance and behavior. Another essay that well connects with Tannen and Irvine’s articles is a section from a book written by Michael Kimmel titled Bros Before Hos’’: The Guy Code. Kimmel talks about “The Guy Code”, rules that a man should always follow in order to be considered a real man. Words are the reason why these standards have been established for all genders and sexualities. The relationships between parents and children would be better if words were replaced, which would abolish the expectations that society has for men and women.

The word “gay” has gone through drastic changes. Traditionally, it was a positive term that meant to be “happily excited” or “jolly” (Merriam Webster, “Gay”). It was used regularly to express one’s feelings about life. Today, it has a far different meaning. Now people use the word gay to label homosexuals, those with feminine qualities, or those who do something thought to be outside of the norm for their gender. “Being gay” went from expressing someone’s happiness to describing his sexual preference. The definition of gay has changed so much that its original meaning has become archaic and lost to the times.

The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning, Queer community also referred to as LGBTQQ is no stranger to oppression. “In 1600-1800, colonists discovered buggery (sex between men or between women) among Native Americans. In 1869, Dr. Karoly Benkert coined the term “homosexuality” to describe same-sex acts. In 1870-1910, homosexuals

We are in a time where minorities as a whole are pushing for further rights and respect from the public, and by holding onto these insults and slurs, it shows that society is unwilling to change for the better. It allows discrimination to fester in quiet ways, as a faint, cruel reminder of a time when being gay was a death sentence--and people unknowingly disregard the purpose of such a derogatory term in favor of using it as a comedic insult. In reality, no matter the intent, the word faggot is still recognized as a cruel condemnation by the queer populace--which needs to be taken into consideration as people attempt to shift their language into including more respectful

Because language is relative/arbitrary, queer has various meanings, depending on evolution and history and also personal attributions. Queer has been used as an adjective to mean strange, questionable, or to not feel right, a pejorative against queer individuals, an identity relating to a person who does not conform to a normative sexual orientation or gender identity, a sexual orientation, and as a gender identity (such as genderqueer). However, there is an overlooked use of the word: queer is also a verb. What does it mean to queer something? There was a time when that phrase meant “to mess it up,” as in queering a

Bisexual. Gay. Lesbian. These are all words that in today’s society are becoming more and more common to hear. Although just a few years ago hearing these words might have shocked some and angered many, they are becoming a part of today’s norm. People are broadening their views on sexuality and the possibilities open to them. Being bisexual, gay, or lesbian is slowly becoming accepted. On television a few years ago, a comedic sitcom Ellen attempted to make gays even more accepted by casting the main character as a gay woman. Sadly, Ellen failed because viewers weren’t ready for gays to be seen in a comfortable TV setting. The idea was too new and the show was before

The word queer has been used to describe someone that does not fit into the social norms that the world sets, for example a girl that dresses masculine and has short hair is a queer. There are also people that fall into simple categories that use queer as an identifier for themselves, people in the gay lesbian and transgender communities often consider themselves to be queer as a sort of layman’s term today. An example of this in the ChYOR assignment would be the third ChYOR my article was on “queering art” bringing queer concepts to art, such as portraits of gay couples and dance duets with two male dancers. The article was very interesting because of the way that it talked about how little representation queer art has, and how that is slowly

Ableism individuals are criticized by society such as being in a wheelchair or being a crippled. Nancy Mair states, that “Society is no readier to accepted crippleness then to accepted death” (231). This is saying that society basically accepts deaths but cannot accepted people who are disabled. The heterosexism language that is often used is the word “queer” by individuals who have hatred against heterosexism people. Lillian Faderman a feminist and professor says, “In 1910 the term queer was referred to sexually degenerate towards men or boys” (170). It shows how men who were gay had always been criticized by our society; however, women were also treated differently if they were a lesbian. Women were insulted by the word “dyke”. It was meant to be used as an “umbrella term towards women who were lesbian”(Faderman 170).

A typical SJW would immediately retaliate and denounce anyone who uses these words. As a homosexual myself, I would not take offense to slurs of any kind, even the ones directed at my orientation. Several gay people that I associate with also believe that such derogatory terms are petty and insignificant (a few of them are in fact encouraged by those slurs). Some people attribute the offensiveness to lie within the words themselves, even though words can drift in and out of inappropriateness. Most of us recognize, for instance, that "gay" literally means "happy" and related synonyms. Only within the last century did it happen to acquire the current context; consequently, many teenagers began to use it derogatorily. "That's so gay," is not a direct offense to gay people, but rather implies entirely different semantics. Isn't it rude to call someone stupid? Therefore, why would it be acceptable to use "that's so stupid"? They represent the same meaning! So how can one be more offensive than the other can, even though they're both relatively offensive in their own right? Involving the same group of SJWs in that LGBT+ chat, I received retribution for using the word "retarded", to which I defended myself with the literal definition and traditional use of "to retard". Suddenly, I realized that the logic behind a word’s obscenity originates from allowing ourselves to be offended by it in the first place. If as a society we didn't ascribe a word potential to offend or insult, then that word can’t be an issue. Attempts to phase out unacceptable terminology merely results in a different word to replace its unacceptability as people will consistently find other ways to object to whatever issue draws their attention. Self-victimization, attention-seeking, and name-calling recurrently plague human history, yet we are hopelessly ignorant to our past transgressions as a human

In her introduction, Irvine says that “Something queer is happening to the word “queer,”” (p.477). She bases her claim on direct quotations a variety of individuals, such as Gregory Ward and Trish Mcdermott. Gregory Ward, a Northwestern University linguist who teaches a course on language and sexuality, claims that the entertainment industry is changing the word’s image, because of it being commonly used. Furthermore, “Trish Mcdermott, a vice president of “romance” at the Match.com online dating service, says she’s seeing the word appear more often in personal ads.”

Queer theory questions creations of normal and divergent, insider, and outsider.2 Queer theorists analyse a situation or a text to determine the relationship between sexuality, power and gender. Queer theory challenges basic tropes used to organize our society and our language: even words are gendered, and through that gendering an elliptical view of the hierarchy of society, and presumption of what is male and what is female, shines through. Queer theory rejects such binary distinctions as arbitrarily determined and defined by those with social power. It works to deconstruct these binaries, particularly the homosexual/heterosexual binary.4

Queer theory looks at the kinds of social structures and social constructs which define our ideas about sexuality as an act and sexuality as identity. As an academic field, queer theory examines how notions of hetero/homosexuality have historically being defined and how various cultures as well as periods have enforced ideas about what kinds of sexuality are normal and immoral.

In modern society the categories “homosexual”, “heterosexual”, “bisexual”, or others are very familiar to our ears. We have a set definition of each word. Along with that, we can use these categories to identify and label individuals that meet these set definitions in our mind. These categories explain what our sexuality of preference is to others through the use of language. People perceive these categories and words as something they truly know as a factor in their identity as an individual. In terms of categorizing concepts, it is natural for the human mind to do so. However, the use of these labels to define individuals is recent in terms of human history. Before the turn of the 20th century, individuals were not used to thinking of sexuality in a way that defined their identity. Sexualities to people of the past were thought of acts that individuals took part in, nothing more or less. Increased public acceptance of sexual expression and discussion caused the up rise of sexologists: doctors “dedicated to unraveling the mysteries of human sexuality and treating sexual dysfunction” . These doctors wanted to use the power of language to differentiate between “normal” practices

Gay (n) usually male, homosexual. In middle English, it meant “excellent person” “noble lady” “gallant knight” or “something gay or bright”; “ornament or badge” (“gay”)2