I’m in favor of the contextual rule rather than the “in” crowd rule. If you know how and when to use it, you can pull it off regardless of your orientation. After all, you can’t always tell someone’s orientation just by looking at them
My impression has been that queer is very popular amongst younger folks on the west coast. As long as your using it in an appropriate manner, it doesn’t raise eyebrows.
As someone else mentioned, queer has become a good catch all for GLBT. I tend to think it’s ok to talk about a “Queer Night” at a local bar, or the “Queer Community” or a “queer magazine” but using it to refer to individuals in the third person isn’t always as appropriate because it’s too vague and betrays a little distance from the community.
In other words, it’s like using the word “nigger” if you’re not African-American (damn, African-American is so much more difficult to type; can’t we use convenience as a criterion? Oh wait, we already do).
sorry,but I must nitpick. I think it was rude for Mojave66 to call Doctordoowop a “sorry ass”. He made a mistake and didn’t intend on offending the cashier.
I think we should use the word, “esprix” to mean you are Gay.
Actually, I don’t particularly like the term queer, but of late the phrase “that is so gay” has now started to have some negative connotations in schools so, who knows.
I still prefer the word Gay, but hey - they are just words…and as has been said above, it depends on who says it and in what context.
I have never heard this one, and I think it is my new favorite. I also am not offended in some contexts by fag hag (which I am called most often).
I have a hard time with the word queer, and I use it only in certain contexts when I know I will not be offending the people I am with. I am very comfortable with the gay men in my life, and I know what I can and cannot say around them, but would never use words like this around people whom I have just met.
