fortiesfun
Sexy Member
- Joined
- May 29, 2006
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Lots of good information here already.
Kalipygian's etomology work is very helpful, but doesn't quite tell the OP what he needs to know about the connotations of the word. The offensiveness of "Queer" is still there unless the word is used in carefully controlled, formal ways to mark it as an academic term, or very casually as an in-group joke. If you are a non-native speaker, like the OP, be careful about using it at all, as it is difficult to master the nuances of language that render it safe.
Just thought I might add that in an academic sense, as in Queer Theory, Queer is seen as an umbrella term encompassing all sexual non-conformists including gays, lesbians, transexuals, bisexuals, and asexuals. Gay is usually used in those same circles to mean more specifically just male-male homosexuality.
Gay is a medieval word but it wasn't until the 1920's that it was first used to mean specifically male-male homosexuality. And it wasn't until relatively recently, (Mid 80s?) that it became widely used in a perjorative sense, as in "That's so gay." In earlier literature and film you almost always hear "queer" used as the insult.
Kalipygian's etomology work is very helpful, but doesn't quite tell the OP what he needs to know about the connotations of the word. The offensiveness of "Queer" is still there unless the word is used in carefully controlled, formal ways to mark it as an academic term, or very casually as an in-group joke. If you are a non-native speaker, like the OP, be careful about using it at all, as it is difficult to master the nuances of language that render it safe.
Just thought I might add that in an academic sense, as in Queer Theory, Queer is seen as an umbrella term encompassing all sexual non-conformists including gays, lesbians, transexuals, bisexuals, and asexuals. Gay is usually used in those same circles to mean more specifically just male-male homosexuality.
Gay is a medieval word but it wasn't until the 1920's that it was first used to mean specifically male-male homosexuality. And it wasn't until relatively recently, (Mid 80s?) that it became widely used in a perjorative sense, as in "That's so gay." In earlier literature and film you almost always hear "queer" used as the insult.