LGBTQIA...

Let's just stick to The Gay Community or LGBT. We have to stop somewhere.

A local politician who supports us said that the additional letters added to LGBT are too confusing - and he nailed it. People can't remember all these letters and it's getting to be ridiculous.

Equity community.

R1 Trannys have nothing to do with sexuality

He-man tranny hater's club.

Gays and Attention Whores.

LGB. Stop letting the others stab us in the back at every opportunity they can trump up.

I resisted adding the Q for the community organization that I used to run -- until the SJWs decided that another letter was "needed." It's ridiculous, but I doubt it will stop with Q.

I thought Q originally was for "questioning" but morphed into queer?. Don't like either really. Questioning is not anything to declare.

I liked “the alphabet people.”

R9 how about just "village people"

I think you're right, R8. It was originally Q for Questioning. I think the intent was to include teenagers who were, in all probability, gay/lesbian, and needed our support, but didn't yet feel comfortable making an announcement.

EOESWP*

*every one except straight white people

Just keep gays and lesbians separate. Let the other ones figure out a name. We have nothing in common with them anyway.

LGB. Fuck the rest of this nonsense. Kick anyone in the balls/cunt who tries to change the Pride flag as well.

“El-gee-bee” or “el-gee-bee-tee” flows linguistically. Anything beyond is awkward, and forget moving “G” to the front to represent the majority - “gee-el-bee” sounds atrocious.

R14 Nothing screams “straight male” more than thinking browns and pastels look OK when they are inserted into a vibrant rainbow.

Queer. Obviously. It's what is used in the gay world outside DL.

R17 We are perfectly happy to refer to ourselves as homosexuals and lesbians as we are not chicken shit asswipes trying to pass as something else

That's ok r18 you or anyone can call rhenselves anything you want for all the world cares. Nomenclature is another thing.

R19 English?

My p0rtner and I just keep it simple with our own "GIBLETS" when making references to such.

Vivian Vinculum

R17 No it isn't. It's used only by idiot millennials who want to be gay-adjacent, but not gay. They're just fag hags who will get married to opposite sex partners, have kids and quickly forget they ever pretended to be "queer" in 3 years. Quit rewriting our history as Gay people.

LGB - if others want to join, great.

They don't add a new every time they make a new partner at a law firm, so why should we add a letter every time someone wants to join our organization.

If that makes them feel marginalized, then they should form their own organizations, just like we did.

"This has to stop. I cringe every time a politician has to add another letter."

Better get used to cringing, dumbass.

Anything including the word OTHERS will never fly. Being “othered” is seen as dismissive by that those who need to be recognized as the very special “Charzar attracted gluten-free Them” that they are. No one is going to jump up and say “I’m an other.” They’ll want official recognition.

R25 I syringe every time.

[quote]LGB.Stop letting the others stab us in the back at every opportunity they can trump up.

I would argue for LG ONLY.

B is the gateway drug to everything else.

Two-Spirit would be genuinely stupid--an appropriation from Native American and it doesn't really have the same meaning as any of the LGBTQIA letters.

R28 Indeed, you never meet a bisexual over 30 in a same sex relationship EVER

“Gay, lesbian, and the rest” (like the original Gilligan’s Island theme song.)

[quote]Nothing screams “straight male” more than thinking browns and pastels look OK when they are inserted into a vibrant rainbow.

I don't automatically think "straight male' when I see browns and blacks added to a pride flag----I DO,however, think :

SCAT FREAKS.

It always rankled my nerves that the L came first. If you do it alphabetically the B then G then L then T BGLT. makes more sense to me. But the alphabet soup lately is irking me even more.

How about "human beings"?

Q = Questioning in the acronym LGBTQ. It does NOT mean queer.

I hate the word queer. It is insulting and derogatory. It is a cruel word, and I don't want to "own" it. It is not worth owning. It should be thrown in the trash heap of unacceptable words.

R23 I noticed it’s not just gay-jacent wannabes using “queer” - for instance, real lesbians are using it too, or are calling themselves “gay” because both words have more lightness and snap than “lesbian,” which drags out of the mouth in comparison. Unfortunately, in the minds of some millennials, it also conjurs up the stereotype of a humorless, angry, misanthropic animal-hoarder wearing paid flannel.

That said, I hate the negative associations of “queer” - if women who sleep with women want to distance themselves from the stereotypes that accompany the frumpy linguistics of “lesbian,” “gay woman” sounds like a much better replacement, and I think the “gay community” could and should encompass both men and women.

I would happily share the word “gay” with lesbians. Then we can all be called “gay” or “Gay, and the rest…”

R35 “Questioning” = bisexual. Yay! Another unnecessary letter trimmed off.

Let’s just call ourselves queer because includes everyone. No need for any alphabet soup, even of the LGBTQ variety. Queer is one easy syllable that puts us all under one umbrella.

QUILTBAG.

[quote]“Gay, lesbian, and the rest” (like the original Gilligan’s Island theme song.)

Not a bad idea, and if anyone feels butthurt, you could remind them that “and the rest” were the only fuckable castaways on the island.

BLT.

R39 But queer means straight adjacent, not gay or lesbian adjacent, so fuck that stupid idea

R39. I hate the word queer. I would never use it. It's insulting. Go away.

I actually like your first option, OP. It's easier to remember and quicker to say than 'LGBTQIA+', doesn't have the baggage of 'queer', and the acronym is positive (GLO).

I'll have a BGLT. Hold the mayo.

Interesting fact: up through the 70s we had “gay rights” movements and “gay” organizations, and it wasn’t until the 80s that groups of lesbian identifarians started demanding that the nomenclature be changed to “gay and lesbian” much to the dismay of many, including Frank Kameny, who accurately predicted the division, infighting, and alphabet soup lunacy it led to. Thanks, lezzies!

Queer=a vile word

You are 100% right, R47, and I apologize on behalf of lesbians everywhere. If only we had known where it was going to lead...

Personal Freedom Coalition

R49 Aw, no need to apologize! I was kidding a bit, because only small, vocal groups of lesbian separatists initiated the mile-long string of letters. Anyhow, I agree with you and think that both “gay men” and “gay women” are more dignified terms than “gays” and “lesbians,” which sound more like mythical creatures from Greek mythology than people. Don’t even get me started on “queer!”

Oh, I know you were teasing us, R51, but you were still right! And, I must say, it's refreshing to encounter someone who still knows or remembers gay history of decades past.

Hopefully, "gay man/woman" catches on as the preferred terminology. I only use "lesbian" when I'm with other gay people ― not only is it a mouthful (albeit a classical-sounding mouthful), but straight people have fetishized the word so thoroughly that I feel uncomfortable using it around them.

It should just be The non- straight community and leave it at that .Fuck the trannies they should be out on their own anyway. I know that's harsh but they have never belonged bunched in with us gay/bi people at all. Since the 60s they have latched on to us and done us great harm. The enemy within. Let them go their own way.

What the hell does the I stand for in LGBTQI?

LGB.

Nothing against trans people, but they concern themselves with gender, not sexual orientation.

Homosexual man, homosexual woman, bisexual man, bisexual woman.

Everything else isn't a sexual orientation and homosexuality isn't anything other than a sexual orientation.

Gay rights has become a clown car with no actual meaning that's ignored by most. It's sad. Our brothers would be mortified.

Can someone explain what distinguishes someone as Queer instead of LG? I've never understood.

Do most DLers identify as Queer?

Im gay

What about asexuals? They are discriminated against. Don't they get a say?

Well I am post gay!

R58, Queer is an overarching term that includes gays and lesbians. This is why the term is so helpful: it is a shortcut label that includes all of us without having to list a string of 12 letters.

There is an extra bit of empowerment since it is a reclaimed word as well. We have taken a word that once was used to hurt, but now can give us strength.

How about just Gay? Gay is gender neutral.

I was told last night at a staff meeting it’s LGBTQQIA+ (queer, questioning, intersex, asexual, and “plus” which also includes anything else). For short, they told us we could pair it down to LGBT+.

It doesn’t help with being taken seriously especially as human beings.

The Gays.

I’m with r39.

But nobody cares that gay community doesn’t like “queer.”

We are not empowered to name ourselves. However, we are obligated to refer to straight men with female pronouns.

Oops pardon my typo. I’m with R44 not R39.

I’m not queer.

Actually, r63, queer is a slur.

The LGB community choosing to be known as Queer, would be like black people deciding to be known as the Ni%%#rs. It is just stupid. Don't reclaim words, just bury them.

[quote]which encompasses everyone. Any ideas?

OP, can you explain to us why you want to encompass everyone?

You are only responsible for defining your own group, which I assume is gay men.

R70, queer is no longer a slur. It hasn’t been for 5-10 years. Language evolves and whether you are in denial or not doesn’t change the fact that the word has been reclaimed.

Queer is defiant and powerful. It shows we mean business and won’t take shit from anyone. Queer is the word of a warrior. I don’t understand why people don’t want a word that shows our strength to stand for our community.

[quote]Queer is the word of a warrior.

MARY!

Ha, Mary me all you want, but you can’t deny it’s true!

That’s it! The “M” community. End of thread.

R29 Two Spirit was already appropriated. They took a pre-existing Native American term with spiritual meaning and now every LGBT person of remote Native descent is out here calling themselves 2S.

[quote]R65 I was told last night at a staff meeting it’s LGBTQQIA+ (queer, questioning, intersex, asexual, and “plus” which also includes anything else). For short, they told us we could pair it down to LGBT+.

This never happened.

"Queer is the word of a warrior."

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

I'll never be queer. The original use of the word is still in common parlance and it means and will continue to mean, "odd", "weird", "off..." I don't like, "non-straight" - never be described by what you're not.

I'm for LGB. Rearrange those letters as you please. These are groups that concern sexuality, anything to do with gender identity etc is a completely separate movement, one that currently not only has nothing to do with us but is actually inherently against us. Old school transexuals were one thing - they're small in number and often gay and often fabulous, no problem with them being part of the gang. But not non-binary, trans activists, autogynephiles etc.

Asexuals could put a solid case, but really, who's victimising them that they need to be part of a movement? And they leave the door for so many niche groups of romantic love and what not. Questioning helped path a way in for those not ready to come out because of societal fears. But in 2019 when every special snowflake wants a letter anyway, I'm fairly sure it's not needed.

/ I'll just, "Oh, dear!" myself at R80. Pave. Not path. Obviously.

But queer in common parlance does NOT mean “odd” or “weird” anymore. Queer is easily understood as referring to LGBTQ people and it’s not used any other way.

Sure, in the 1930’s and 40’s queer meant weird, but not today. If someone says, “That’s a queer looking sweater,” they don’t mean it looks weird, but rather it would be worn by an LGBTQ person. More likely, if someone wanted to insult a sweater they would call it “gay.”

Which is why I've said it here many times before - the younger generations embracing "queer" probably heard the phrase 'that's so GAY' time and time again from their friends all through school. So 'gay' is a pejorative to their pea brains.

But no one talks about trying to stop GAY from being used as an insult. They'd rather just say "LGBTQ" instead (which itself is rapidly turning into a joke with all the additional letters).

R73, me being gay has nothing at all to do with being a "warrior". I'm not at war with anyone. So take your Queer word and hateful attitude and go somewhere else.

It's all so exhausting

You just know R73 is the stereotypical straight white suburban fat gal with the blue hair and the nose ring

You can add all 26 letters of the alphabet, and many gay people will still just call it the gay and lesbian community. We lives with that for years, but then the circus arrived in town, and like Jimmy Durante said, "Everybody wants to get into the act". When I hear straight SJW females using the alphabet poop, I want to fart in their face, and NOT say, "Excuse Me".

When I hear anyone claim to be Queer, I assume they’re a Republican. They’re into co-opting cultures, transient fashion and pump and dump scams. As soon as whatever short term fashion trend has passed, they’ll dump it - ust like their Goth look from a couple of years ago.

Queerpublicans: as vacuous as supply siders, every bit as sanctimonious.

Queer people are not republican. We are anything but. Since queer people include all LGBT people, are you suggesting we are all Republican? As if!

I thought the R was really the T, not the Q

I know eldergays hate it, but I’m fine with queer. As they die off, it will probably become more commonplace.

R91 is a warrior!

[quote]Nothing screams “straight male” more than thinking browns and pastels look OK when they are inserted into a vibrant rainbow.

It screams "shit in a baby's diaper".

[quote]Queer is defiant and powerful. It shows we mean business and won’t take shit from anyone. Queer is the word of a warrior.

Queer is weird or freakish. It shows people that someone is desperate for attention and lives to annoy people. It is the word of a misfit who is ridiculed.

I can’t see R 91.

There should be no shortage of letters. I won't stop until we are at LGBTQIABCDEFG

What about symbols?

@&!$

[quote]Let's just stick to The Gay Community

Yes.

[quote]or LGBT.

No.

What's the 'I' stand for?

How about we say gay for gay men, lesbian for lesbians, bisexual for bisexuals, transgender for transgender, intersex for intersex, etc., etc. I cringe everytime I see "LGBTQIAA2SWTFWHENWILLITEND?" in news articles, particularly when it's dealing with only one letter of the alphabet (for example, discussing gay male issues or a specific gay man, but using "LGBT" instead of gay).

Besides, what, really, do any of these groups have in common? I can see the connecting thread of gays and lesbians; bisexuals only get the "oppression card" when they are in a relationship with someone of the same sex. Trans isn't a sexual orientation, and much of the current ideology surrounding it is in direct opposition to gay/lesbian issues. Queer is just for str8 folks who want to be considered "edgy." Intersex is a medical condition and they are often vocally opposed to being lumped in with "LGBT" and especially trans. Asexuals - how, exactly, are they "oppressed"? Two Spirit is mythologized historical concept. Stop the insanity!

r73, the only anti-gay slur I've heard in the past decade from a bigot was "queer"; sorry, but it has not been "reclaimed."

I used to like hearing "gay pride march". It was like just being there meant you were finally out and proud.

Now it's 'Pride Holiday' or some shit. Means nothing.

What about BLT, hold the mayo?

R73, queer keeps us on the fringes.

Why are you coercing us to be called queer when we have explicitly stated we don’t like that term?

Why do you want to keep us fringe?

Fairy

R89 "Queer" people are not gay. They're just millennials engaged in play acting. You'll get married to an opposite sex partner in a couple of years, have crotch droppings and start calling the cops on some Person of Color in a park for selling lemonade, walking a dog or having scary hair.

You're Republicans having a good laugh at gays, coopting us and erasing us. That's why we ignore you and won't buy into your bullshit about "Queer" or "Transphobia" or any other nonsense. We grew up with all these attempts to erase us before.

How about "just stop"

R99 The I stands for intersex

Intersex most definitely should have no place in there. It's an extremely rare birth defect ffs.

Send a memo to the Native Americans. We've "reclaimed" the term Redskins for them. We've "done the work" and people now think of football when they hear the term. See how that works?

Aside from term "queer", the vast majority of queers have little interest in the hard work of community building, supporting institutions, and uplifting gay men and lesbians. Queer culture is about critiquing, calling out, and disrupting. Queers are the first to tweet a link to their GoFundMe, and the last to volunteer at a gay elder care center.

Gay brothers and lesbian sisters, first and foremost.

R109 I felt the same way when someone explained to me what it meant.Hermaphrodite is NOT a sexuality!

R89 we are NOT all queer. Stop imposing this label on others - it's clear from this thread and the million others we've had here over the years that most are resolutely against it.

You and your fellow millennials can call yourselves what you want, but if you get out of your Tumblr echo chamber, you'll see the majority still associate it with being a slur.

Re: intersex. The above poster is correct. They want out of the TRA clusterfuck. Especially as transactivists often cite intersex as proving a third sex exists. It doesn't. Sex is binary. All intersex people are defined as male OR female. It's just a developmental disorder that happens to affect the sex organs to some degree. It's like being born with any other in-utero defect. There's some great gender critical Intersex advocates on Twitter who diligently explain their condition, repeatedly, as otherwise their condition is erroneously and cynically coopted and weaponised by the trans lobby. They could do with some support, because frankly, it must be exhausting when they're small in number.

R78 I wish I was kidding. I work at a community counseling center.

I’ve seen that R118. I’ve seen 2S too.

Or R113.

I use the phrase "sexual minorities community".

It rolls off the tongue better & no one will get offended unlike the alphabet soup letters.

If you miss just one, you could catch some flack by some sensitive group.

Just like racial minorities doesn't mean you are supportive of criminal groups like the Bloods or The Crypts, sexual minorities (community) doesn't mean you are supportive of criminal groups like Nambla or rapists in general.

[quote]How about we say gay for gay men, lesbian for lesbians, bisexual for bisexuals, transgender for transgender, intersex for intersex, etc., etc.

Thank you for thinking.

r73 is the posting of a moron.

r106 I don't think it's the Republicans who are calling us "queer" this time around. It's our enemies at the other end of the spectrum.

so LGBTQIA sounds like the planet where we are all from.

r18 homosexual

definition: Of, relating to, or having a sexual orientation to persons of the same sex.

lesbians or also homosexual

I vote for homos+ the plus is for the bi's

lesbian are also homosexual

[quote] What about symbols? @&!$

Pretty soon our designation will qualify as a strong password.

He, she, it.

So if “queer” has been reclaimed, could we maybe also call ourselves “fairies” “fruits” or “fags”?

I know some queer people who feel they have reclaimed Fag/Faggot and use it in empowering ways (e.g. no one tells this fag what to do!).

Personally the word doesn’t bother me. I never heard it as an insult except on TV or in movies. The only queer adjacent word I ever heard as an insult was “gay. “

Academia and the media (The Times to HuffPo) already use queer as our descriptor and no one seems to have a problem with it. If queer really were still a slur, would The NY Times really use it? Of course not!

Really? There was no uproar when HuffPo changed from Gay Voices to Queer Voices? Hahaha!

[quote]I never heard it as an insult except on TV or in movies.

You live a sheltered life.

R39, stop trying to make Queer work. Only bland straight people want to be called queer. GAFL.

white hetero troll alert

R118, it’s the same mentality that penis, aka “manhood,” can be feminine.

R126: that’s when I stopped reading huffpoo

LGB works because the first two mean “gay,” and the third means “semi-gay.” Feminism demands the “L.,” while the “B” is needed to warn others that you’re a timeshare. OK then.

Intersex and trans people who are attracted to the same sex, you’re gay also, so no need to designate the “T” and “I” - those are medical conditions. As for Q & A, - you’re not oppressed; please go away and flaunt your specialness elsewhere.

I just hate the word queer. LGBT community has been okay. But I don't really think Trans people should be together with gay because a lot of Trans people would technically be straight.

[quote]Let’s just call ourselves queer because includes everyone.

No, because is homophobic and stupid. Like your grammar.

[quote]Queer is one easy syllable that puts us all under one umbrella.

Someplace I will never be: underneath an umbrella with someone who calls me a queer.

R73, you’re pathetic. And desperate for a personality. Sorry. Being gay isn’t a personality. Cultivate your own character and quit with ‘reclaiming’ queer.

“Including everyone” defeats the fucking purpose. “Queer advocates” are always the dumbest. Too funny.

You are either gay or lesbian. If you aren't one of those two then fuck off.

What about bisexual or do you consider bi people under the gay umbrella?

No bisexuals. They deserve their own umbrella. My life would be a better life if it hadn't been for two bis.

I think any letters after LGB should be in lower case.

Deviators. It sounds like a group of superviilians, let's use it and scare the hell out of straight arrows!

I am a queer fibro warrior!

Gays and Lesbians. The others can have their own community.

Jesus Christ, enough with the "island of broken and confused souls" ! I v=belong to the Gay Community, period. Questioning? Get back to us when you decide! Bi? Get back to us when you decide! Trans? Start your own fucking club. Gay = emotionally, spiritually and physically attracted to the SAME SEX. Period. You can't be a MtoF trans who still has a dick and dates women and be in the gay community. You are STRAIGHT! Go away.

r145 for president.

[quote]Personally the word [queer] doesn’t bother me. I never heard it as an insult except on TV or in movies.

So you HAVE heard it as an insult. Yet you want to embrace it?!

[quote]The only queer adjacent word I ever heard as an insult was “gay. “

Please re-read R83’s post. He hit the nail on the head as to exactly why that is.

Can you imagine a politician standing at a podium and saying, “Yes, let’s pass this resolution. The queers will benefit from it. And you guys know I’m totally fighting for the queers”? Really?

AFAIC it is LGBQ now, and LGBQ forever.

R83 is correct R147.

R147, I had heard it used as an out of touch insult by TV writers, yes. The point is, you don’t hear it in real life. Certainly you’re not trying to say that TV and movies are an accurate depiction of real life.

I can totally hear a politician saying the queer community will benefit from this legislation. Absolutely! You don’t hear many politicians refer to “the Jews” either- it’s Jewish community or Jewish People. Queer community sounds great and includes everyone.

Go to college campuses across America and you will hear students talking about Queer people in a positive way. This coming generation has united has all and will deliver equal rights for us like you could only ever have imagined.

Add an "S" for Straight. Why exclude anyone?

Catch-all lumping is ridiculous.

T really needs their own stand alone identity, and that's intended to be respectful.

B should be for bullshit.

Q is fad crap.

GL is enough for same-sex attraction, personal identity, life-style, relationships, etc.

[quote]This coming generation has united has all and will deliver equal rights for us like you could only ever have imagined.

Please. This coming generation won't deliver jack shit. Like generations before them, they're desperate to hang with the trendy cool kids and the current thing to be is "woke." Goth and piercings were less obnoxious.

They're as crucial as the Occupy Wall Street kids who got a chance to stick it to the Man before graduating and going to work in daddy's hedge fund empire.

Yes R152. All the “queers” will be married to members of the opposite sex and have 2.5 kids within 10-15 years.

If 'queer community' "sounds great" then what is stopping politicians and the media from using it instead of "LGBTQIA" or variants thereof, where often they can't get the letters out without stumbling? Maybe because it doesn't sound so great outside of the insular world of academia.

Was going to make a comment about the supposed unity of coming generations and how much bullshit that is (you do know that there is a non-negligible segment of young people, college students included, who live for all things Trump, right?)- but R152 pretty much covered it.

[quote] The point is, you don’t hear it in real life.

I have heard "queer" used specifically as a slur against gay men and lesbians twice within the past year.

I’ve been called a queer by homophobes—zillions of times. Called a flamer here (Datalounge). F-ggot here (with the “a”).

Why are you all underestimating Gen Z? They are going to turn the political machine upside down like never before.

More than Academia uses queer. The NY Times, the most liberal newspaper in the country in the most liberal city in the country, uses queer. Do you think they would if it were still a slur?

[quote]F-ggot here (with the “a”).

Glad you clarified that. Without you letting us in on what letter went there I was lost.

NY is not the most liberal city and the NYT is nkt the most liberal paper.

^I’m not gonna type it out because I’m not an asshole, asshole. Blocked.

Oh lord..... You probably love AOC too, don't ya R157?

Lets just fast forward to the natural disastrous ending and use: LGBTQIAWTF

That was to R 158.

"This coming generation has united has all and will deliver equal rights for us like you could only ever have imagined."

are you fucking kidding me? all this generation is going to deliver is an antibiotic resistant form of ever STD known to man. But at least they know they have rent control and free college.....not that they go to college, mind you, but still...

r164, it's in college that they learn these absurd ideas, that, for example, biology doesn't really exist and that you are what you feel.

R165: I agree! today I feel black, not white, so Im going to spend my afternoon applying for NAACP scholarships. Biology is a construct. If I say Im black, then dammit, Im black!

Yes I do love AOC and dream of her being President sometime. She has given new life to the political system and restored hope for many that change can occur.

I had a sense you loved her. Just a hunch.

R165: forgot to add I will, of course, be demanding that the NAACP change their name to more accurately reflect MY ideas: thus, new name: NAACWANALMRUUTAHDYPeople (Colored/White/Asian/Native American/Latino/Mixed Race/Undecided/UnwillingToAnswer/How Dare You (I will not be labelled by you or any other racist. You are literally doing VIOLENCE to me by asking!)

R160 is trig-GURRED.

Calm down. A) it was just a joke; B) words don’t scare most of us.

[quote]Hi! Nice to meet you. My name is Michael.

Hi, Mike! Nice to meet you, too!

[quote]Thanks! I go by Michael, btw.

That’s great, Mike.

[quote]lol. Please call me Michael.

[quote]”Mike” is shorter & easier to remember. Plus you look like a “Mike.” I knew a “Michael” a long time ago. That’s an old name...so traditional sounding. “Mike” is cooler.

[quote]Ok...but my name is Michael.

Glad we settled that, Mike. Have a great day!! See ya around 😊

Excellent R171! GREAT analogy.

Actually it’s a pretty bad example. No one is erasing gay, lesbian or whatever with queer. Queer is an umbrella term that holds these groups, but doesn’t negate them.

A better example is the taxonomy naming system: Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species.

Instead of running around as separate Genus/Species groups (cis lesbian; trans male), Queer is the family name that unites all the species together. We realized we are stronger fighting together than apart. This is why queer is a unifier and not a divider.

Laugh all you want at warrior queer, but it’s a good description and we will be proven correct when we stamp out legal bigotry for good.

Why do I assume that warrior queer has a pink scabbard? Is that wrong?

I assume it's a fat chick with blue hair, thick rimmed non-prescription glasses, lots of tattoos and a septum piercing.

Oh, and who loves the D.

R173, what “legal bigotry” remains in the US? Other than the lack of federal protection for gays and lesbians in employment and housing, I honestly don’t see anything that qualifies as “legal bigotry.”

Actually, r173, erasing gay/lesbian culture and history is precisely what is happening. That's another reason to resist "queer."

[quote]Hi! Nice to meet you. My name is Michael.

Hi, Asshole! Nice to meet you, too!

[quote]What? Why are you calling me asshole??

Because it’s a unifying name. Everybody has an asshole. “Asshole” is an umbrella term that contains all groups of people within it. Yet it does not negate your inherent dignity & worth.

[quote]Calling me “asshole” is just wrong. Please stop it.

Relax, Asshole. It’s just a naming taxonomy. It was an insult in the 20th century, but now “asshole” is a unifying term.

[quote]Ok...but my name is Michael.

Glad we settled that, Mike.

[quote]I asked you nicely to please call me Michael.

R177 Calling someone a certain name does NOT erase history. I think “queer” is stupid and offensive, but you sound like Laverne Cox saying that words are “literal violence.” No - words are not violence, and no - they don’t magically erase history.

Calling someone a certain name against their will is unjust, r179.

White people used to call Native Americans “injuns.” But Native Americans stood up & said: “Don’t call us that. We don’t like it. We are not injuns.”

Whites didn’t respond by saying, “it’s just a word. And it suits you. We don’t mean it as an insult. Don’t be such a baby, Injun. “

And if words are not violence, then why must we use female pronouns when referring to Caitlyn & Laverne Cox? Why is it literally against the law in some places to “misgender” someone?

“Those who make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.”

That is why I like to use the word Queer, just one word and not this rainbow of letters to deal with it.

Of course some DLers are really fuckin triggered by it.

Except it’s not outside groups calling us queer. It is LGBT people who came up with the idea to use queer as the umbrella term. We were the ones who fought to reclaim the word. Straight people didn’t reclaim it and then give it back- we took it from them.

In Academia, it was LGBT professors who reclaimed queer theory and queer cinema.

Queer is internally chosen. It’s not like injun at all. Now if native Americans want to reclaim that word and empower it today, that would be their right.

R180 Seriously - it’s illegal to “misgender” someone? Please cite how many have been arrested for it. On the other hand, if a pronoun is used in a derogatory way, persistently, that should fall under workplace harassment. The same would go for “queer” or even using a stupid nickname against the person’s wishes. A friend of mine - not trans - had a straight coworker who constantly called him “she” and “gurl” because he’s gay. The idiot was let go (not arrested), although I supposed civil charges could have been filed against the employer if they had not terminated the harasser.

R182 has just outed himself as a troll.

I just stick with LGBT. And if I'm feeling particularly foxy, I'll throw in "and fuck the TERFs!" too. No one needs those needy cunts. No one.

r56 so closed minded. But...but... fludity man. It's a spectrum

For r184: A man has described police as using George Orwell's novel 1984 as an "operating manual" after he was investigated over alleged transphobic comments posted on social media.

An officer from Humberside Police interviewed Harry Miller by telephone after the force received complaints over his posts on Twitter.

One tweet questioned whether transgender women were real women.

Mr Miller said he was "utterly shocked" to be questioned by a police constable.

'Shutting free speech' "He said even though I had committed no crime he needed to check my thinking," said Mr Miller.

"We are heading absolutely towards some Orwellian state and the police are using 1984 as an operating manual and this frightens the life out of me."

Orwell's novel, published in 1949, describes a future totalitarian state ruled by Big Brother where people are arrested for "thought crime".

Mr Miller, who is a former police officer, denied being transphobic and claimed the police were "shutting down free speech".

In a statement, Humberside Police said: "We received reports of a number of transphobic comments being posted on social media.

"We take all reports of hate related incidents seriously. We will always investigate to determine if a hate crime or incident has been committed and we will then take proportionate action."

I say gay. That includes lesbians and gay men. I'm a lesbian. I don't like the word queer, and I understand that it's because I'm over 40. Under 40 probably don't have the same experience of hearing that word hurled at us. I'm fine with queer if you want to use it but it doesn't mean gay. Half the people I know who use the word to describe themselves are straight people who want to be interesting and need a term to announce coyly that they've dabbled.

Anyone can claim to be anything. There’s no brain scan or blood test to prove that someone is gay, straight, bi, trans, etc. so how do we know who’s telling the truth? For instance, was Freddy Mercury gay or bisexual? Based on his actions, he was bisexual. Based on his identity, he was gay.

So, even if the LG splits from all the other letters, we would have to exlude those those who are not “gold star” gays and lesbians, which means we get to decide whether or not the closet case who comes out after being married to a woman for 30 years is allowed to identify as “gay,” and whether or not he is allowed to receive services from the local, newly-minted “LG Center.”

^^ Oh Dear - I meant “Freddie” and “exclude.”

[quote]Except it’s not outside groups calling us queer.

Bullshit.

HuffPo & academia are both an outside groups.

I don’t know of a single gay person who calls themselves queer.

We are gay & we are telling you NOT to call us gay. Yet you insist on imposing it on us.

Stop coercing us to accept being called a slur. If even just one gay person were offended by it, then that’s enough to stop using it.

ACT UP! reclaimed it only out of desperation to call attention to AIDS which was being ignored because it seemed to initially only affect gay men.

But now straights are using it for themselves because they’re weird or abnormal.

I’m gay. I’m not a freak. I’m not queer.

How does it feel to call me queer knowing that I don’t like it? Does it bother you at all?

Why are you so invested in calling us a slur? Why can’t you just accept that we don’t like it??? Why can’t you let it go?

Sorry.

* we are gay and we are asking you not to call us queer.

For r192

*jumps up and gives a standing ovation*

[quote]Straight people didn’t reclaim it and then give it back

They've reclaimed it as an insult then.

Just say gay.

I'm also not calling myself cis. That's a relational term, not a purely descriptive term for one thing:

"denoting or relating to a molecular structure in which two particular atoms or groups lie on the same side of a given plane in the molecule, in particular denoting an isomer in which substituents at opposite ends of a carbon–carbon double bond are on the same side of the bond."

It's a shitty word that nontrans people didn't popularize to describe me and I reject it.

I say I'm a natal gay women if pressed to come up with an alternative to cis queer. Fucking hell how did we get here.

Having said all that, I do want to use only the term anyone says is correct for them.

What’s wrong with cis? It is totally harmless.

R102, in a wacky 2019 plot twist lesbians are being banned from Pride celebrations all over the globe because they don’t believe cross-dressing fetishistic narcissistic men are actually women. Refusing to accept or utter the dictum ‘Trans Women Are Women’ is the new heresy, and dudes in Dollar Store wigs are starring as the opposition (aka the Inquisition).

[quote]and dudes in Dollar Store wigs

Look at this one, throwing shade!

R198, there's nothing wrong with it if you like the term. I don't like it. It sounds awful. It's not that I have a problem with a term to identify what cis refers to, I just don't like that word. It's not like the stronger aversion I have to "queer."

I understand why I have an aversion to queer, and how subjective it is. I remember older gay men who objected to the term "gay" and wanted to be referred to as homosexual.

One problem with ‘cis’ is that it makes women a subset of their own category. Signs at Pride celebrations and articles published describe ‘women and cis women’ as belonging to this notional super-category of ‘woman’ when only the latter meet the actual definition.

[quote]‘women and cis women’

^^^the very definition of female erasure

The same cult also believe that transwomen have vaginas & women have frontholes. And they will threaten anyone who disagrees.

I think the acronym is getting absurd too. I don't know what the answer is. But, gay seems simple enough to me. Why do we have to have all these friggin letters? Queer has a slightly geeky, aggressive, angry protest vibe to it to me. NO.

Gay is never used as an insult. There's no "stupid gay" being said. It's "stupid fag" or "stupid queer". That's "gay" is not used as widely now and basically marks an individual as the village fucking idiot.

I swear that some of you people have to be deaf.

Mostly just straight men over 50 still use “gay” to mean “weak,” “effeminite,” “stupid,” etc., but thankfully they are starting to die out. Unfortunately, it’s still prevelent among roided-up “bros” on the tail end of the dying-out generation, but be patient... most of these apes will succumb to brain aneurysms or scrotal cancer soon.

Lesbian and Gay encompasses everyone, OP.

People Who Need People

Cis sound like sissy, and no thank you. Being called a sissy is not something I want passed on to gays who are quite masculine or to others who don't like the mincing, effeminate pejorative meaning it calls to mind.

{quote]Having said all that, I do want to use only the term anyone says is correct for them.

Seen on the Internet:

Knock knock.

Who's there?

David.

What are your pronouns?

#WokeHumor

Lesbians in the US and other countries are abandoning Ye Olde Alphabet Soup due to harassment by transgenders, specifically transbians (heterosexual men with peni who are attracted to women and insist that lesbians ride their Lady Dicks):

[quote] Caught in the crossfire between trans activists and feminists over the nature of what it is to be a woman, calls for a break-up of the longstanding LGBT+ alliance back to its constituent elements are starting to emerge..

[quote]it’s still prevelent

Oh, dear!

[quote]Gay is never used as an insult.

Right. And if you didn’t know that, that’s so gay!

Sweet r211

Rose, no not Rose Nyland, but a Rose by any other name would still smell as sweet. Rose because of where we have rose from(I know it is risen but I am on a roll here give me a break).

Our theme song could be The Rose by Bette Midler.

Reddit has a brand new subReddit where people fed up with how the Transgender Lobby has taken over gay organizations and are sponsoring legislation that will actively hurt homosexuals, like the "Equality Act." Gays, lesbians and allies can post and organize on the subReddit to create organization actually focused on gay rights.

More than 8500 LGB and some Ts have signed a petition asking the UK's most prominent LGBT+ organization, Stonewall, to change its focus on transgenders and its insistence that "gender identity" be included in the legal definitions of biological "sex," because this has led to the destruction of women and gay rights. Signatories include many prominent gay men, including many of the founders of Stonewall itself.

[quote] Stonewall’s promotion of the concept of 'gender identity’, which has it that a man or woman is anyone (of either sex) who identifies as such, is also undermining the basis of lesbian, gay and bisexual identities as orientated around same-sex attraction. Lesbians in particular are coming under pressure to accept male-bodied trans women into their spaces and as sexual partners.

RAINBORES

My friend refers to himself as a homo since it refers to his sexual attraction as well as subbing for the word cis ("same"). And of course it means "man, human." I don't think it'll catch on but I'd like to see an alternative to LGBTQIA that is focused on sexuality.

r218 (and your friend): Just say "gay."

They added three letters to the already existing four and it seems many can’t keep up. Well, the word ‘because’ has seven letters. Are you able to remember that one at least??

"Because" is a word; "LGBTQIAA2SWTAFITI?" is an acronym that is unpronounceable as a word.

See R116 &

CALL IT A DAY.

No, r222. I’m gay. Homosexual. Same-sex attracted.

Straights don’t call themselves the “sexual majority.”

Pulse wasn’t shot up because it catered to “sexual minorities.” It was a gay bar. And the massacre was during Gay Pride month.

Not a single tranny was killed at Pulse. Because trannies are homophobic & wouldn’t be caught dead in a gay club.

R219: I do say gay. It's my friend who says homo as an act of defiance. I think we'll have to come up with a new term to mean what we want to convey.