Queer - A Way Towards Social Change, by Tania Garcia

Truth is, prior to taking this course, part of me felt like I didn’t have agency or much of a say when referring to any topic in the LGBTQIA+ community. I don’t identify as straight and most certainly didn’t know much about it. I felt like I was going to disrupt, maybe even disrespect a space that wasn’t mine. The last three weeks have changed that… 

I’ve now had the opportunity to learn more about the community itself but as well as the role I can have as an ally. By being an ally, I can share what I’ve learned and help bring issues into various conversations . 

The term ‘queer’ has been questioned and examined for quite some time; should it be embraced, who should embrace it, why should it be embraced? Given what I’ve learned, I think that queer should definitely be embraced, by both members within the LGBTQIA+ community and the public as a whole. First used as a derogatory slur for anyone to be perceived as gay or lesbian, it has been taken back and given entirely different purposes and meanings. In order to understand these purposes and meanings, we must first discuss the role language has played in identity and sexuality discourse. 

Identities such as gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender are fairly recent coined terms used to “accurately” describe/understand different types of identities/sexualities. Author of Queer Theories, Donald Hall, believes that using specific terms between different cultures and time periods is problematic. What is known to be “gay” right now, might not have been understood the same way, in fact, the term may have not even been used. A certain behavior such as two men being in a relationship may have been interpreted differently in Ancient Greece. Nevertheless, he recognizes the use of these terms, stating that “Indeed, naming something - even in prohibitive fashion - does carry with it the possibility of identification “with” as well as “against” (pg. 28). In this statement he draws on a common human theme, you don’t know who/what you are, until you name it. In order to identify with a specific sexuality, you must first know what that term is and what it means. 

Queer is a unique term, it doesn’t have a definitive meaning or concrete definition. It is a highly subjective term, meaning different people understand and go about it differently. Ambiguity and subjectivity make it rather appealing and while it maintains individuality, it can also be used as an inclusive term. Minus18, an Australian  LGBTQIA+ youth network, states the following: “There’re lots of reasons why people identify with queer, either individually or as an umbrella term. It encompasses a wide range of identities, and doesn’t risk excluding groups that the acronym may leave out.” Because of this fluidity, inclusivity and subjective nature, the term challenges our socially constructed notions of normalcy.

Sexual orientation and identities are personal and private endeavors, yet have now become a very public aspect of our daily lives. Because it has entered the public realm, society has now become a major force in dictating how we should go about these identities, deeming those that conform to societal expectations as normal and those that don’t as abnormal. We even try to control how we interact with them. In the film, Out of the Past, the story of how a GSA club created a politicized controversy - parents, school board members expressed negative sentiments, some of disgust and disapproval. Although we’ve progressed and this isn’t the most prevalent cultural scene we can see how much influence these constructs have in our daily lives. These constructs continue but in a more subtle way.

Identifying as gay, lesbian, transgender, we subject these identities to social binaries. There’s a constant need for us to fully place individuals in “boxes”. We subject individuals to conform to a single gender, sexual orientation and even romantic relationships - anything that doesn’t conform is then deemed as false or the identity is changed based on the behavior. There is no room for fluidity, at least not in the way we’ve constructed our understanding of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender identities. Queer, on the other hand, does not conform to these binaries. There is room for fluidity and no need for an identity to be simply based on small snippets of our whole like romantic relationships and gender. 

There lies a need of continuation in queer theories and understanding of queer. Despite being inclusive and challenging other identities to consider different facets of our identity, there seems to remain an unconscious/inconsiderate aspect of race. Hall,  considers this need, claiming that ignoring race in queer discourse is wrong. “[And] nervously avoiding a discussion of racism among queers and racially inflected interactions in our own queer lives is at best intellectually shallow and at worst actively racist.” 

Queer is a powerful identity, not only because of it’s overcoming history but because it’s notion of challenging the unjust in our normative discourse. It is imperative that it continues its purpose, giving way for conversations including other social injustices such as race and class. It’s an evolving and culturally significant word, one that is paving way for progressive change, in academic and everyday discourse.