I know I keep reblogging posts like this, but it matters to me. “Queer is a slur” is a TERF dogwhistle, and a lot of the younger generation is falling for it. Please pay attention to history and ask questions about who’s behind social media campaigns that undermine the inclusivity of your community.
I rarely see anyone in the ~discourse point out that “gay” is a reclaimed slur itself. Somehow everyone is aware that it used to mean “happy, chipper, festive, sociable, flashy, lighthearted, etc,” yet no one stops to realize how utterly offensive it is to use that word as a euphemism for mlm. It requires zero additional context to see the blatant effemiphobia and realize it’s entwined with the STILL PERVASIVE stereotype of mlm as frivolous, loud, carefree dandies (see also: nancy boy, nelly, sissy, light in the loafers, and about a hundred other slurs that are still recognizable as such). It’s considerably worse if you do add some context – before it came to specifically mean “homosexual,” it was also used more broadly to mean “sexual deviant” (mlm, literal prostitutes, figurative sluts).
This isn’t petty hair-splitting about ancient history, either. It was aggressively reclaimed circa the 1950s, and frankly, the fact that it had already lost its venom by the time YOU popped into existence just proves how successfully a term can be reappropriated by the people it’s meant to marginalize. The reclaiming of “queer” has already happened, too – the only people debating its merits at this point are either screaming into the void that is Tumblr, or taking an edgy stance in a classroom discussion at the college where they’re majoring in, you know, QUEER STUDIES. Trying to give the term back to bigots is as misguided and pointless as trying to get a “gay is a slur” movement off the ground. Yes, it is; that’s the point; welcome to the twenty-first century.
‘Queer’ was reclaimed as an umbrella term for people identifying as not-heterosexual and/or not-cisgender in the early 1980s, but being queer is more than just being non-straight/non-cis; it’s a political and ideological statement, a label asserting an identity distinct from gay and/or traditional gender identities.
People identifying as queer are typically not cis gays or cis lesbians, but bi, pan, ace, trans, nonbinary, intersex, etc.: we’re the silent/ced letters. We’re the marginalised majority within the LGBTQIA+ community, and
‘queer’ is our rallying cry.
And that’s equally pissing off and terrifying terfs and cis LGs.
There’s absolutely no historical or sociolinguistic reason why ‘queer’ should be a worse slur than ‘gay.’ Remember how we had all those campaigns to make people stop using ‘gay’ as a synonym for ‘bad’?
Yet nobody is suggesting we should abolish ‘gay’ as a label. We accept that even though ‘gay’ sometimes is and historically frequently was used in a derogatory manner, mlm individuals have the right to use that word. We have ad campaigns, twitter hashtags, and viral Facebook posts defending ‘gay’ as an identity label and asking people to stop using it as a slur.
Whereas ‘queer’ is treated exactly opposite: a small but vocal group of people within feminist and LGBTQIA+ circles insists that it’s a slur and demands that others to stop using it as a personal, self-chosen identity label.
Why?
Because “queer is a slur” was invented by terfs specifically to exclude trans, nonbinary, and
intersex people from feminist and non-heterosexual discourse, and was
subsequently adopted by cis gays and cis lesbians to exclude bi/pan and ace
people.
It’s classic divide-and-conquer tactics: when our umbrella term is redefined as a slur and we’re harassed into silence for using it, we no longer have a word for what we are allowing us to organise for social/political/economic support; we are denied the opportunity to influence or shape the spaces we inhabit; we can’t challenge existing community power structures; we’re erased from our own history.
I’m not kidding. Cis LGs have literally taken historical evidence of queer people’s involvement in the LGBT rights struggle and photoshopped it to erase us:
Pro tip: when you alter historical evidence to deny a marginalised group empowerment, you’re one of the bad guys.
“Queer is a slur” is used by terfs and cis gays/lesbians to silence the voices of trans/nonbinary/intersex/bi/pan/ace people in society and even within our own communities, to isolate us and shame us for existing.
“Queer is a slur” is saying “I am offended by people who do not conform to traditional gender or sexual identities because they are not sexually available to me or validate my personal identity.”
“Queer is a slur” is defending heteronormativity.
“Queer is a slur” is frankly embarrassing. It’s an admission of ignorance and prejudice. It’s an insidious discriminatory discourse parroted uncritically in support of a divisive us-vs-them mentality targeting the most vulnerable members of the LGBTQIA+ community for lack of courage to confront the white cis straight men who pose an actual danger to us as individuals and as a community.
Tl;dr:
I’m here, I’m queer, and I’m too old for this shit.