Let's Embrace Queer! by Yael Greene

Starting from a very small age, probably starting at five or six years old, my parents, especially mymom, explained what it meant to be “gay,” “lesbian,” and “transgender,” just to start. All those talk were very positive, with the both of them reiterating that if my sisters and I ever felt that we were not straight or not identifying ourselves as females, they would continue to support and love us. As Igrew up, I heard more terms such as “asexual,” “pansexual,” and more! My mom and dad never changed their response about how they would fully love me no matter how I identified myself sexually or with my gender. The one thing they would add when we continued growing up was that the term “queer” is very derogatory and offensive towards people in the LGBTQIA+ community. I hated the word for a long time because of the negative history behind it. Nobody of any sexual orientation and gender identity deserves any form of hatred.

Nowadays, the term “queer” has been reclaimed as a positive part of identities, even with my own friends. At first, I did not know what to think because of my background knowledge of the word. It came up more and more through the media outlets I was on, and I started seeing how the word evolved into becoming more positive. When I found the word on a terminology sheet about two years ago with other words of sexual and gender identity, I knew a positive change occurred. Because of how the word has evolved into an expressive form of gender and sexual identity, I feel that we should embrace the word “queer” within the struggle for LGBTQIA+ justice. 

I absolutely recognize the fact that the word, unfortunately, was used to marginalize people who did not identify as heterosexual and/or with their biological sex. However, for the past few years, especially through my friends’ social media profiles, I have seen it used for Pride fests and marches. Those friends of mine basically say that they’re queer and they are not sorry for it. I find that action super inspiring and uplifting.

The term “queer” is a very complex word. I would not know how to specifically define it. However, the complexity could be described. In Donald Hall’s book, Queer Theories, who uses an example by Eve Sedgwick from her book, Tendencies:

“...’queer’ can refer to: the open mesh of possibilities, gaps, overlaps, dissonances and resonances, lapses and excesses of meaning when the constituent elements of anyone’s gender, of anyone’s sexuality are made (or can’t be made) to signify monolithically. (8).” (70).

From what I have seen through my friends who identify with different genders and sexualities, and what I continually watch or hear about through current media outlets, I think what they gain through the word “queer” is a form of uniqueness and pride. These people in my life and all over the world see it as a part of who they are without any form of shame. To add on, it is a form of inspiration for having the right to live their lives the way they and their allies wish for them to live. Katlego Kolanye-Kesupile, the founder of the Queer Shorts Showcase Festival, uses the word, which is very attached to her lifestyle, to describe how she wants to bring it to her local village in Botswana after they never accepted her for being transgender. She wants to use her queerness to help others who are also from poverty areas, including her hometown, who are going similar identity processes like she did as a child.

“Queer” has of course grown into a proud form of identity for a variety of people around our world. While it is being recognized more and more as a prideful part of many peoples’ LGBTQIA+ stories, there are people, even within the community itself, who would still be against using the term. Using “queer” to marginalize and target people who identify differently sexually or with their biological gender unfortunately still occurs, especially in the world we live in today when there is a rising amount of hate crimes. Because of those traumatic experiences that many people faced, those people can be reluctant to use the word as a sense of prideful identity. With that, it is important for those who do use the word as a part of their movement should be respectful as well as why there are people like them who continually struggle with “queer.”

In the end, after the inspiring movement being led by people through all walks of life that identify as “queer,” I see it as a part of a source of inspiration for a movement. “Queer” is the honest part of many peoples’ stories, and when anyone can be authentically themselves, more justice and goodness can be brought into our beautiful world.