(I know there's already a thread about this on this board, but frankly I don't feel like fishing around for it, so just chill.)

I noticed that the word "q.u.e.e.r" is now censored...I seem to remember that at some point it wasn't. I'd like to (try to) make a case for letting it be, instead of turning it into ***** all the time.

• I'm under the impression that most folks don't consider it offensive. Maybe I'm wrong...
• It is mostly used by gay/lesbian/bisexual/trans people themselves.
• If someone really wants to hurt the feelings of a gay/lesbian/bisexual/trans person by using an offensive term, a little device that *s out the word isn't going to stop them.
• I'm sick of using the term gay/lesbian/bisexual/tran, and am also sick of the homosexual/heterosexual dichotomy built up around here that excludes rather a lot of people -- at least I would feel like the dabates are more realistic if people are at least allowed to use a more inclusive term than homosexual.

Okay, I'm kind of afraid that didn't make a whole lot of sense, so if it didn't I promise I'll clarify later.

I guess what it really comes down to is that I think the allowance of using the term won't hurt anyone, but instead enhance discussion. And I'd feel better about it all.


Love, Jenny

wut is up wit people sayin that bein is a sin o wuteva??? if q ueer means peculiar or weird then we're all freakin q ueer cuz we all b different and weird in our own way.

There was nothing wrong with it until some perversed mind changed the meaning.

my grandma says q ueer alot. ALOT. It all has to do with context. I dont think that it should be consored. For that matter I dont think anything should be consored. **** **** **** ***** **** *****

so many words i cant use

quote:

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People throw that word at me all the time

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It comes with the territory, so you should be used to it.

Suck it up, and be a man - or half of one if you're bi.

I dont use the "Q" word as other people do, rarely do people use that word to put homosexuals down. I use the word as the meaning, strange, weird....stuff like that, yn is making too big of a deal out of it!


Missy

I also don't think q ueer is a bad word, especially in say the UK where you hear that word all the time. Like...my isn't that pink car rather q ueer. Or what if I want to talk about the TV show Q ueer As Folk? Plenty of gay people I have met refer to eachother as q ueer....so I don't get it, YN is becoming much like our school systems.....facist.

I hate double posts

ok! lets first remember that the deffinition of q ueer is actually something out of the norm, or different. if people who are gay have a problem with that word then i dont understand because they are out of the norm and they are very different even if they do not want to be. letts all remember the little saying we learned from our parents! IT was Adam and EVE not Adam and Steve. in the bible there is encouragment for a man and a woman to be in love and join together, yet straingly enough, there is not one word said about gayness and therefore i truly doubt God intended things to end up this way! and i am sure that if it was something unintended by the Lord God Almighty then there is something different about those who chose to be gay, adn therefore the word
q ueer does not mean something bad, it is just plainly stating that that said person is different and thats all.
*Etta ;

Q ueer means "peculiar." If you are gay or lesbian, you are peculiar, because you are not like normal people. God did not intend for people to be gay. It is a sin.

I think that it is wrong to make it into an abusive word. I may use it, but that is only because my sister is a lesbian and she says it sounds a lot better than 'homosexual' (Which she says makes it sound like an illness!).
What Im saying is that most people dont mean any harm when they say 'q.u.e.e.r.' but if it is treated as an abusive word it will become one.
Christine xxx

This has been really upsetting me.

I talked to my Q Studies (an actual department in the university) professor from college (who happens to be homosexual) and he was absolutely outraged that you would censor the word. If people learn it as a bad word, they will use it as an inherently bad word, which it just isn't.

I read the "censor abuse" thread in which Lissa said "We understand the point you are trying to make and although members of the LGBTQ community have begun to reclaim the usage of those words, they are still considered hateful and derogatory to some, so we can't allow them to be used on the boards in any context."

But words only have the power to be hateful and derogatory because we continue to recognize them as such.

I don't think enough credit is being given to the GLBT community to defend itself from this harmless word. Most people interpret the "q" word as simply a deviation from the "norm." Hence "Q" Studies is the study of a kinds of sexual deviation, not just homosexuality. And I think most GLBT people realize that their sexual inclination deviates from the culturally accepted norm, and therefore have no problem being called "q.u.e.e.r," and even use the word in reference to themselves. So why all the fuss?

If someone calls me backwards because I am from Texas or stupid because I am blonde, could those not be interpreted as hateful or derogatory statements? Sure they could. Am I gonna cry about it? No. Are we going to ban all adjectives? That's ridiculous.

Words that have crept into our language that are offensive and nothing else should be censored, I agree (not only because young people don't need to be hearing them, but also because they tend to deteriorate the level of dialogue). But I must continue to take exception with the censorship of this word.

I'm sorry you've had that experience.

For me, however, it is not "total bull". I haven't heard the term used in a negative way since 7th grade. (6 years ago.)


Love, Jenny

you guys that is total bull. you can't say that people don't use that word as a deragatory statement, because they do. I should know. I'm bi, and not afraid to admit it. People throw that word at me all the time. I think it's great that the word is censored.

I believe the term was "unleashed" at one time and we had to insert it back into the filtering tool after being used inappropriately but I will forward your comments to team for discussion.

Here's the thread Censor Abusethat you mentioned earlier where this was discussed.

Right freaking on, brooke. You have no idea how good it feels to have someone agree with me on this one. Especially since you put it so very well. My thoughts exactly.


Love, Jenny

Hardly anyone uses the word "q.u.e.e.r" anymore as a derogatory term, and in fact there are emerging academic disciplines including "Q.u.e.e.r studies and ***** Theory" that would seriously object to the censorship of this word. When we censor a word, we effectively give it more power than it had before. When GLBT people use the "Q" word, they are assuming ownership of it and limiting the power that it has over them. African Americans arguably do the same thing with the "N" word, though obviously the "N" word carries with it a history of oppression the surface of which the "Q" word barely scratches. Why has YouthNOISE decided to give this word negative power by censoring it rather than allowing GLBT people to assume responsibility for the word and its connotations?

I know what you mean, Jenny, don't worry!

I'd like to add that recently I've been using the term "glbt", but I don't think anyone has the foggiest notion what I mean.


Love, Jenny