I wrote an entire mini thesis on the history and use of the word queer in college (at my school you had to write a 10-20 pg mini thesis for every class with a topic you picked that was related to the subject of the class and this was for an LGBTQIA+ history class). I spent hours every day for about 6 months extensively researching the history of the word, and its use in the US and around the world.
There are some nuanced parts of history of the word, but at the end of the day there is not any good faith argument for telling LGBTQIA+ people we cannot describe ourselves or our own communities as "queer".
Controversy over the reclaiming of the word (for individuals or the community as a whole) has historically and is currently almost always centered around the feelings of white cis gay men and lesbians who do not want to include trans people, polysexual people, ace people, and people of color (among other groups) from "their community". Do not let them get away with it.
If you don't want it used to describe you as an individual that is fine, but our choice to call ourselves queer deserves as much respect as your choice not to.
#queer #queerphobia #bigotry #transphobia #biphobia #panphobia #LGTQIA #trans #nonbinary #enby #pansexual #polysexual #queerstudies
