Comment on How do you refer to the lgbtq+ "community" least excludingly?
Cryophilia@lemmy.world 4 months ago“Queer” works.
Everyone between age 30 and 60 will accept the label immediately.
Some people under the age of 30 will get offended but they’re the kind of people who like getting offended so you can safely ignore them.
Some people over the age of 60 will get offended but who cares, they’re about to get dementia anyway.
z00s@lemmy.world 4 months ago
Can I respectfully ask, what’s the definition of queer as opposed to lesbian, gay, bi, trans or intersex? As in, why is it included in the acronym? Does it have a specific meaning that isn’t covered by the other terms?
Cryophilia@lemmy.world 4 months ago
“Queer” is a catchall term. It specifically does not have a specific meaning. It’s meant for people who do not fit into the cishet idea of gender, but also don’t fall neatly into the L, G, or B of LGBT.
“Queer” technically encompasses the L, G, and B too. Anything outside of cishet “norm”. A fully straight metrosexual could consider himself queer.
kent_eh@lemmy.ca 4 months ago
Plus its one of the letters in the growing acronym.
aphlamingphoenix@lemm.ee 4 months ago
I use the term “queer” to describe myself because my sexual identity (which is something like bisexual or pansexual) and my neurodivergence have made me something of a cultural outcast throughout most of my life. I don’t really “fit in” with most people, and “queer” describes that experience pretty succinctly.
To the person you are responding to, I am cautious about using this word too broadly because some people have specific trauma around this word. Bigots often wield the word like a weapon, so people who are subjected to that and don’t have adequate supports to deal with that trauma can get offended by it. I don’t think we should so flippantly dismiss that. It works for me. It doesn’t work for others.
Cryophilia@lemmy.world 4 months ago
I think there’s something to be said for not self-censoring due to the potential of someone’s personal trauma. Respectfully, some random person’s issues are not my problem and should not affect my ability to identify myself or others, as long as I’m not doing so in a mean spirited way. If words cause you mental issues, you should work on that with a therapist. I will not coddle you.