Date: Thu, 29 Feb 1996 10:18:04 -0600

From: "Kathleen M. O'Neill" koneil1[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]UIC.EDU

Subject: More on "queer"



I thought you might find a different

viewpoint interesting. Note that the

final poster uses the phrase

"lesbians and gay men".



--Kathleen M. O'Neill



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Date: Thu, 29 Feb 1996 00:23:03 -0500

Subject: Re: Them hurtin words

To: Multiple recipients of list BIFEM-L BIFEM-L[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]BROWNVM.BROWN.EDU



At 10:32 PM 2/28/96, Emily wrote:

But then again.. most of the people I know here don't like that word...

and dont' use it. I do, though...



I know lots of queers who hate that word. (In its proper context, I mean)

Usually they are lesbians. In fact, I heard this argument a few weeks ago,

I was at a meeting for organizing this year's Pride, and the word queer

came up. THis woman said that she doesn't like that word because it makes

lesbians invisible. I couldn't quite figure out what she meant, except

that maybe she thought queer is thought to refer to males (?) If anyone

else can help me here, I sure would appreciate it...



I think that the term is used most often as a way to include bisexuals and

transgendered folk. We used to use "lesgay." Then, when I started up the

bisexu-l list (a predecessor of bifem-l, for those of you interested in

history :-)) we started using the term "lesbigay" or "lbg." Eventually,

people were willing to use "lbgt" but that was a real mouthful, and it

seemed that the more inclusive people wanted to be, the more willing the

they were to use the term "queer." It's just so much easier than saying

"lesbian, bisexual, gay, transgenderd and/or s&m folk."



Most of the hostility towards it I see comes from lesbians and gay men who

really want the movement to be -their- movement and no one else's.



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