Susan's Place Transgender Resources

Colorado College Defends Use Of The Word 'Queer' On Gender Section Of Job Applications
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/08/colorado-college-queer_n_4241115.html?utm_hp_ref=gay-voices
Author: Andrea Rael Source: Huffington Post

Job applicants seeking a position with Colorado College will find five options for a question about gender identity: not disclosed, male, female, transgender and queer.

Answering the question for the Colorado Springs-based private liberal arts college is voluntary, but the inclusion of the word "queer" on the application made 66-year-old John Kichi [. . .] very upset and even prompted him to file a complaint with Colorado Attorney General [. . .] office.

I've notice that when I tell people I'm queer (with respect to my dissolving marriage to a woman), people of that generation are horrified that I'd use that word.

Younger folk have no problem with it.

Quote from: suzifrommd on November 10, 2013, 09:42:10 AM
I've notice that when I tell people I'm queer (with respect to my dissolving marriage to a woman), people of that generation are horrified that I'd use that word.

Younger folk have no problem with it.

The term is being reclaimed by the LGBT community after years of it being used as an insult. You've heard of the saying "We're here, we're queer, get used to it?" Yeah.

One of my nieces goes to that college.

Quote from: Eva Marie on November 10, 2013, 11:57:33 AM
The term is being reclaimed by the LGBT community after years of it being used as an insult. You've heard of the saying "We're here, we're queer, get used to it?" Yeah.

In Australia we actually use LGBTIQ... the I & Q standing for Intersex and Queer respectively, so I guess we've already mainstreamed it in that sense...

I really, really like the term queer.

1. The terms "Lesbian", "Bisexual", "Pansexual", and heaven forbid "transgender" all tell too much of the story.

If I'm talking about my life with someone, I like to be able prepare them for the fact that the spouse I'm breaking up with is the same gender as I am. But I don't feel like I owe them an accounting of my sexual orientation and gender transition. So I use the word "queer". It prepares them that all won't be hetero/cis, without telling them more than I'm ready to.

2. The ever-expanding alphabet soup (up to LGBTQQIA in some areas) is causing mainstream folks to tune us out. Of course I wouldn't want the asexual and intersex folks to feel left out, but we're losing sight of what we're trying to do, which is make people more aware of our issues and increase acceptance, not bewildering them or making them feel out of the loop because they don't know what the second "Q" stands for.

I like the term queer because anyone who feels they belong, can stand under the umbrella.

This guy needs a little RECENT historical perspective. The word "queer" has been reclaimed for at least a couple of decades.

I agree with Suzi and Arch - the term should be viewed in a positive light, rather than as a pejorative.

Some of the men in my group are about this guy's age, and they don't like the term "queer," either. They come from a generation of men for whom the word has VERY negative connotations. But they recognize that it has been reclaimed, and they register their dislike without taking me and others to task for using it. This guy could take a clue from them.

Quote from: suzifrommd on November 10, 2013, 04:11:05 PM
...making them feel out of the loop because they don't know what the second "Q" stands for.

What does the second Q stand for?  Sorry for the dumb question! ::)

One Q is usually for Queer, and another is for Questioning.

Thanks! Ironically I almost answered it in my own post!

Quote from: Ms Grace on November 11, 2013, 01:33:25 AM
Thanks! Ironically I almost answered it in my own post!

That's actually quite funny!

???

Hahaha.

Quote from: suzifrommd on November 10, 2013, 04:11:05 PMThe ever-expanding alphabet soup (up to LGBTQQIA in some areas) is causing mainstream folks to tune us out. Of course I wouldn't want the asexual and intersex folks to feel left out, but we're losing sight of what we're trying to do, which is make people more aware of our issues and increase acceptance, not bewildering them or making them feel out of the loop because they don't know what the second "Q" stands for.

Quote from: Arch on November 11, 2013, 12:55:35 AMOne Q is usually for Queer, and another is for Questioning.

If we're going to use two Qs for two different words, then we might as well go with LGBTQQIAA. One A is for asexuals, and the other is for allies. Yes, hetero and cis allies want to be included in the community as well  ::)

Not enough attention is given by the rest of society to the T. So I really do feel silly having to use several more letters in reference to the community, just to be politically correct.

Quote from: Silvermist on November 11, 2013, 01:34:26 PM
If we're going to use two Qs for two different words, then we might as well go with LGBTQQIAA. One A is for asexuals, and the other is for allies. Yes, hetero and cis allies want to be included in the community as well  ::)

Many organizations already do this, but the A stands for androgynes, if I'm not mistaken. Allies, to my mind, are simply allies and do not belong in the alphabet soup because they do not identify the same way we do. I don't know of any organization that uses the second A to refer to allies. As far as I'm concerned, if you are going to include allies in the alphabet soup, you might as well add C for cisgender, S for straight, and so on.

An organization in our area has started using SGMs (Sexual and gender minorities).

I still like queer.

Quote from: Arch on November 11, 2013, 04:28:30 PM
Many organizations already do this, but the A stands for androgynes, if I'm not mistaken. Allies, to my mind, are simply allies and do not belong in the alphabet soup because they do not identify the same way we do. I don't know of any organization that uses the second A to refer to allies. As far as I'm concerned, if you are going to include allies in the alphabet soup, you might as well add C for cisgender, S for straight, and so on.

Please Google it: https://www.google.com/#q=%22LGBTQQIAA%22 and https://www.google.com/#q=%22LGBTQQIAAP%22

Nowhere does the second 'A' stand for "androgyne." It always stands for "ally." Androgynes would be grouped under the transgender umbrella (as they are here at Susan's); there's no reason why they'd get their own letter unless you want to separate the different transgender categories. That's why people almost no one in the "real world" has ever heard of the word "androgyne." The person who runs my local PFLAG support group had never heard the word "androgyne" before I mentioned it.

To be fair, including allies doesn't mean that we "might as well add C for cisgender, S for straight, and so on." Allies want to be in the "alphabet soup" because they want to be recognized for making a stand with us. That's why they are allies, not just simply cisgender and straight people.

...At the risk of going off topic...

I've been thinking about it, and I'm not sure there's any reason to exclude non LGBT people from the acronym. While I know LGBT is meant to help give people an identification that isn't straight, I feel the whole fight for LGBT rights is largely about humanity as a whole, not just us. If LGBT is about sexuality and gender identity, why can't straight people be included (ally's or not) in it? After all, they do have a sexuality and gender identity. It just happens that they like people of the same gender, and are happy with the gender they themselves where assigned at birth.

Even still regardless of what it stands for, ... I use just "LGBT". I know it leaves out things like androgyny, non binaries, and many more, but ... LGBT has the advantage of being easier to say than LGBTNQQIAAASC, (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Non Binary, Queer, Questioning, Intersex, Androgyny, Asexual, Ally, Straight, Cisgender) ... and I'm pretty darn sure even that leaves things out. To me, LGBT regardless of what is officially included in the acronym and what is in it simply by virtue of implication ... it really should be about being human more than anything else now. We're trying to gain equal rights ... and I think in order for us to do so, we really need to start showing people who don't understand that we are simply part of humanity just like them.

But even if it's used to mean "Not heterosexual normative" ... we need to try to keep it fairly simple. People are starting to mock the ever increasing acronym as "The ever expanding alphabet soup of sexuality", and with good reason, as conversations like this show that the acronym is becoming too complicated past 4 or 5 letters for most people to remember what all the different letters stand for.

If, as we are fond of pointing out, the T is silent ... what sound does the I make in the mix?

I think we need to keep sight of the fact that we as a whole, want to be taken seriously even by those who oppose us, and just keep it simple.

Quote from: Silvermist on November 13, 2013, 12:28:24 AM
Nowhere does the second 'A' stand for "androgyne."

I've run into the double A maybe twice and was told at a trans conference by a member of an LGBTQIAA group (or maybe it had two Qs as well, I can't remember) that one of the As stood for "androgyne." Perhaps this person was wrong, or perhaps their particular organization did separate out the androgynous folks. Or maybe it was a joke that I didn't recognize at the time. Or maybe the second A was for "association."

When I and my acquaintances and colleagues use the term "alphabet soup," we always mean it to refer to people who identify differently from straight cis folks. I see that ally is included in at least some organizations, but I don't see the logic of it.

Anyway, thanks for pointing that out. My disagreeing with the inclusion of "ally" doesn't mean that some organizations will magically stop including it.

I am a member of two social organizations that use 'Queer' in their name. In Portland usage Queer indicates inclusiveness of trans*, genderqueer, intersex, and gender-nonconforming LGB, individuals. Also LGBT people that hate labels that divide people.

I'm a bit confused.  How is "queer" a gender? 
Could someone please elaborate.

A lot of people use "queer" as an umbrella term. It can refer to someone whose sexuality doesn't fit comfortably into the usual categories, but it can also refer to someone whose gender identity doesn't fit existing categories, in much the same way, I suppose, that someone can identify as "trans."

Some people use it as short for "genderqueer."