Safire's Gay Column, Why I Use "Queer"
William Safire's "On Language" column looks at how to refer to gay men and lesbians. He dismisses the term "homosexual" (one which I find so antiquated as to be borderline offensive) but does not continue on with the rest of the LGBT acronym. (Bisexuals, transgendered people).
I, for one, have never liked the alphabet soup--some groups include "two-spirit" (LGBTTS) and even "questioning" (LGBTSQ) when talking about the community. Yet it is important to pick a term that is not sexist (gay) and recognizes the fluidity of sexuality. That's why I prefer the all-inclusive queer.
I, for one, have never liked the alphabet soup--some groups include "two-spirit" (LGBTTS) and even "questioning" (LGBTSQ) when talking about the community. Yet it is important to pick a term that is not sexist (gay) and recognizes the fluidity of sexuality. That's why I prefer the all-inclusive queer.
posted by Christopher on Monday, November 07, 2005
2 Comments:
Interesting article. Personally, I like "gay" for the whole alphabet soup. But that's mostly because I had so much trouble dealing with the word "lesbian." It just sounds too much like a skin disease. I mean, I really hated that word (I came out very late). Now I can tolerate it, but only because I've desensitized myself to it. I'd be much happier if I could describe myself as a sapphist or something. As for queer, I haven't managed to completely internalize the that word as my own, but I'm working on it!
Lesbian as a skin disease--that's a good one-liner, I may have to steal it. Thanks for your comments!
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