Druid (07-05-2022)
Definitely agree, I think regionality is a big part of it! Gay was definitely used as an insult here, but the most common ones were h*mo and f*ggot. I come from a semi-rural area and I think that due to that, people are more hesitant to reclaim titles other than gay, lesbian, bisexual etc. I've noticed in the city their seems to be more freedom of expression and waaaaay more (almost total) acceptance, I really hope it spreads outwards someday so the LGBT people in my community feel comfortable claiming whatever they like!
Interesting that f*g hasn't been reclaimed here, but dyke has been wholeheartedly so. I think here it is a bit safer to be a gay woman (which still isn't very safe) than a gay man, as gay men occasionally are subject to male on male hate fueled violence
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Thank you Zenitsu and Greyfaerie for my siggy UBs respectively!
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Druid (07-05-2022)
After spending my first year on Twitch, I was exposed to many groups within the LGBTQ+ communities, pretty much all of which have been awesome. I think it is best to tread carefully initially, as some choose to proudly be part of those communities, and others are shy/reserved/etc. and don't particularly want to talk much about it over the content they want to share instead. More people are finding a pronoun they can feel comfortable in for the first time, and that's really cool.
Initially, I will try and avoid using any specific terminology, just sticking to them/they pronouns and otherwise just having everyday conversation. Many people who are proud of their status will generally let you know of their preference through a comment or their about section. To be really specific to this question, I haven't honestly come across any communities where the term was openly used like it was just another word in their vocabulary. That however, is just my experience, and to be honest, I can't say I've actively been an active part of local LGBTQ+ communities or anything like that. I just know a lot of LGBTQ+ people from work, social media, etc. and pretty much all of them are really cool. We all just kind of talk normally anyways, so the thought of using these terms don't come up much, if at all.
I love the word queer.
For me it's just. It's me. I don't have to do micro-identities or specify how I'm identifying.
I'm here, I'm queer, (heck) you.
For me it's also a form of rebellion. People are uncomfy with queer? Good. I'm here to make you uncomfortable and challenge your perceptions.
You don't /need/ to know my identity to respect me.
Cinnamoroll (12-24-2023),Druid (10-03-2023),♥ Hydrapple ♥ (12-21-2023)
As a queer person I think we should use whatever words we feel comfortable with. I think there's a power in taking back words that were created to hurt/harm us as other marginalized communities have also done.
Cinnamoroll (12-24-2023),♥ Hydrapple ♥ (12-21-2023)
It's a word we all get, yes, it brings some Taboo to the table.
Some of my straight friends keep asking me when they can refer as Queer or Gay or Homo and even what to call a trans Man or a trans Woman and sometimes I get confused because
they keep changing but for me, queer is someone who can express themselves however they want, either fem or masc or both, it's people that don't care about anything and are having a great time.
Cinnamoroll (12-24-2023)
Personally I don't think straight people should use queer or homo. They should stick to gay, lesbian, trans, etc. If a straight person referred to me as a queer or homo I would have an immediate problem with that. Straight people created the slurs but they don't get to use them because it goes from the queer community taking back those words back to being slurs.
Kibba (12-29-2023)
im not an enormous fan of being called queer but i understand its vv important to some ppls identitys!
i dont think it should be put away, but i do think the community could do with being more sensitive towards ppl who dont like to be called it
and i do get a little irrationaly upset when cishet ppl say it, even when not in a bad context... gives me the ick heh