First of all, the question I’m about to ask isn’t about setting up boundaries, gatekeepers or telling someone what they can/can’t identify as. I’m simply curious about how the queer community views what it means to be queer. So, with that in mind, here’s the question:
Q: Can a 100% heterosexual person also be queer?
In the discussions I’ve had online, some say yes, yes with qualifiers and some say no. What about a heterosexual, heteronormative, cisgender, vanilla person? Would you consider that person to be queer in the same way a bi, gender queer, trans person who’s part of the the Scene could be queer? Are they both “queer”? What are your thoughts?
Some claim that they are unable to form an opinion without me first defining exactly what queer is. The entire point of this question is to merely elicit your feedback, not create a definition. Some claim exacerbation with “identity politics” and metaphorically wring their hands asserting that anyone can call themselves whatever they want and nobody has a right to say anything about it. This is a strawman. I’m not trying to nail down a definition nor am I asking this question so that someone can tell others people how they can or identify.
As I said, I’m simply curious to know what YOU think. What contours do YOU think this term has in its cultural topography?
Tags: queer
Who Is Queer?: http://t.co/vMjR3Sm6
My own definition of queer was shaped by my 1960s and 1970s upbringing. Most heteronormative cis-persons emphatically did not identify as “queer” as it was a putdown, a label intended to isolate and ultimately destroy someone. So all of my life, based upon those childhood experiences, I’ve simply accepted queer and later gay as labels intended for homosexual and bi-sexual individuals but not for heterosexual individuals and never gave it much thought beyond that. I saw and was happy that gay was reclaimed and turned into a positive term but “queer” mostly seemed to drop from the landscape for me until I encountered people who considered themselves “genderqueer” and I began reading about it.
So no deep thoughts from me and my view was heavily colored by my intensely biased childhood.
Thanks! I really appreciate your perspective!