Kaitlyn ODonnell

Draft 2 Project 2
ENGW 1111
10/18/16
MLA, 1257 words

Queer: An Extended Definition

Using the word queer today may be insulting to older members of the LGBT+
community because they experienced the word as abusive. But since the AIDs epidemic,
younger LGBT+ people are reclaiming this once derogatory term, embracing being different
from what society wants them to be. It is also seen as a term that breaks the binary sexuality and
gender system. Thus, queer can be defined as both a label for a singular person, and as an
umbrella term for the diversity of the LGBT+ community.
Most are familiar with the origin of queer being, weird, odd or different; whimsical,
(Wikionary). Brontsema does a great job illustrating the history of queer regarding homosexuals.
Before World War II, using queer to reference homosexual men coexisted with the term 'fairy'
(Brontsema 2). By World War II, 'gay' took preference over queer because queer was seen as, "a
pejorative label forced upon them that defined their homosexual interest as deviant, abnormal,
and perverse" (Brontsema 3). This is the exact argument used by todays older LGBT+ people.
The adverse opinion towards queer meaning gay continued until the AIDS epidemic in
the 1980s and 1990s. This is when the LGBT+ community began reclaiming the word. The first
public document arguing for queer to be an empowering word was in June of 1990. This was a
flier distributed by an organization called Queer Nation, and, among other strong arguments
involving the AIDS epidemic, it discussed why queer is a great word to represent LGBT+
people. Using queer is a way of reminding us how we are perceived by the rest of the world.

It's a way of telling ourselves we don't have to be witty and charming people who keep our lives
discreet and marginalized in the straight world (Queers Read This). In addition to this, it points
out that gay implies homosexual men, which completely excludes women and non-binary people
(Queers Read This). LGBT+ activism often has a strong affiliation with feminism, or wanting
equality for all genders. This makes sense considering the fight for transgender rights and
recognition of non-binary genders. Lastly, Queers Read This addressed uncomfortable feelings
surrounding the word, Yeah, QUEER can be a rough word but it is also a sly and ironic weapon
we can steal from the homophobe's hands and use against him.
Today, many use queer as an umbrella term for the LGBT+ community. Its less of a
mouthful than the acronym. In addition, others use queer because they feel that their genders
and/or sexualities aren't adequately described by commonly used terms such as gay or lesbian
(LibGuides). In 2010, Madwin wrote about how she felt that by choosing the queer label, she
found, a purpose in life a cause to fight for. In 2015, blog author Mskelizabeth wrote that
she chose queer because, it does not prioritize one identity over others and taking it back and
wearing it proudly gives us [the lgbt+ community] power.
Whats interesting about both Madwin and Mskelizabeth is that they both refer to their
label as something powerful. This is interesting for a myriad of reasons. But the most important
is because they are both using queer as an identifier and a political statement. This label is
inherently political because of its history. In the 2013 article Queer VS. Gay: What exactly is
the difference between the two terms? Fisher conducted a Facebook poll to determine what his
friends thought of the terms. The politics are described well with these comments:
But for many, the terms are vastly different, depending on their political or nonpolitical
nature. Gay is a lifestyle, Queer is a political idea, one commenter posted. Another

stated, Gay is specifically homosexualQueer implies something more countercultural

and politically radical.
Users of queer as an identifier are well aware of the political nature, even if they dont know the
specific flier that started the reclamation in June of 1990. Therefore, using the term is almost
always a political statement as well as an identity/umbrella term. As Madwin puts it in one of her
reasons to label oneself, [its] to protest against our homophobic society's attempts to dictate
who we can or cannot love.
In addition to political statements, labels are important to acknowledge because they
establish community. Mskelizabeth argues that gay is not a good umbrella term because, gay
and homosexual are pretty synonymous. And while homosexual people are part of the
community with no doubt, theyre not all of it [this] excludes people from their own
community through omission. This is similar to Queer Nations argument that gay means
male. Both say the word is excluding a large part of the community, and both wish to have a
word to unite it. Moreover, Fincke suggest that:
Naming the gender types, the sexual orientation types, the sexual interest types even, in
all their beautiful diversity helps us think better. It helps us acknowledge more realities
and account for them with better social practices so that the people who dont fit into one
or two current everyday categories are now taken into account.
Finckes article talks extensively about how labels are constructed to communicate who we are
more effectively. If someone feels queer describes them, then they should be able to use it to
describe themselves. We should not limit our ever expanding language, especially in the field of
gender and sexuality, where we are just starting to accept that nothing works in binary except
traditional computers.

By accepting a word used in a derogatory fashion as a positive, the power of the word is
taken away. As Brontsema says, At the heart of linguistic reclamation is the right of selfdefinition, of forging and naming ones own existence. This is why queer should be accepted to
mean what the LGBT+ community redefines it as. A huge pillar of LGBT+ activism includes
educating people about respect regarding pronouns and names. So it makes perfect sense that this
community would take a negatively connoted word and flip it to their advantage. We should
continue to expand our vocabulary in regards to LGBT+ issues. As Fincke puts nicely, Just as
our everyday language only skims the surface of the deep and complicated world that science
investigates, well so does it only skim the surface of a multifarious realm of possibilities in
sexuality and gender.

Works Cited
Brontsema, Robin. A Queer Revolution: Reconceptualizing the Debate Over Linguistic
Reclamation. Web. 14 Oct. 2016.
Fisher, Will. Queer Vs. Gay: What Exactly Is the Difference between the Two Terms? | Next
Magazine. Next Magazine. N.p., 6 Dec. 2013. Web. 17 Oct. 2016.
Fisher, Will. Queer Vs. Gay: What Exactly Is the Difference between the Two Terms? | Next
Magazine. Next Magazine. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Oct. 2016.
Madwin, Gayle. Reasons to Choose or Not Choose a Label. Queer by Choice. N.p., 12 June 2010.
Web. 17 Oct. 2016.
Mskelizabeth. Thoughts on Gay as an Umbrella Term. This Feminist Is Queer. N.p., 26 Mar.
2015. Web. 17 Oct. 2016.
LibGuides: Gender and Sexual Identity: Queer and Questioning. University of Illinois Library. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 17 Oct. 2016.
Queers Read This. June 1990. Web. 14 Oct. 2016.
Wiktionary -Queer. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Oct. 2016.

Special Thanks
Special thanks to my dear friend Katya Leidig for helping me decide where this essay was going.
Thanks to Dr. Cecelia Musselman for being patient with me regarding the first draft. And thanks
to Alejandro Curiel and Alexandra Berg for the peer reviews.