One Utah

Cliff Note: Yesterday, Troy wrote about “queers” serving in the military. I’ve never understood the movements decision to use that term. It sounds divisive to me. So I asked Troy about it. Btw: This photo illustrates my idea of a queer…until now.

Here is his response:

Cliff,

Let me give you a quick crash course on queer terminology. Essentially, the use of the term “queer” is generational. Many older LGBT people have an aversion to the term, but for many young people “queer is the new gay.” And again, there is no monolithic agreement about gay orqueer identity. There is great variety is expression and political identity. Many older gays love the term “queer” and I’ve also met some youth who don’t.

The term queer was initially used pejoratively, but was taken back, first by Queer Nation in the 80’s. They were radical activists that led big spectacle “die ins” to protest Reagan’s apathy toward AIDS. They inspired the slogan, “we’re here, we’re queer so get used to it!”

Eventually the term caught on like wild fire — and now the term “queer” has been mainstreamed with shows like Queer as Folk, Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, and of course my show, Now Queer This.

The Academy caught on too, and now Queer Theory courses are taught all over the country. In fact, the U of U has one of the nation’s top queer theorists, Kathryn Bond Stockton. Queer Theory as an academic discipline blows away essentialist ideas of gender and sexuality, and argues for a wider, more fluid expression of both. (and FYI, Stockton will be giving her presentation, Queer Theory and You on March 26 from 1-3 pm at the Hayes Christensen Theatre at the U of U Marriott Center for Dance as part of the Diversity and Social Justice Lecture Series. If you want be intellectually blown away, then check it out!).

A “political queer” is more in your face. This genre of “queer” tend to resist the assimilationist agenda of the broader LGBT movement. They tend to resist the “gaystream” efforts to embrace institutions like marriage and the military. I gravitate more towards this style. We tend to embrace feminism more actively and are concerned with exposing the excess of power, as opposed to gaining access to power.

And finally, “genderqueer” is a relatively new term that young kids are calling themselves these days. A lot of youth are resisting terms like “gay” and “lesbian” because they don’t want their sexuality to comprise the totality of their identity. “Queer” works as a descriptor becauseit is embodies all the strange variables of gender, sexuality and politics. But again, once you label something and try to pin it down, it inevitably shifts and genderblurs. Androgyny chic is everywhere.

This is a major evolution. For older gay generations, the repression of sexual expression made identifying as a sexual minority more prominent. Now with the stigma rappidly fading, sexuality is becoming more of an integrated part of one’s identity. I see this as a healthy development.

Hope that helps clarify!
Troy Williams
RadioActive/NQT Producer

This entry was posted Sunday, March 18th, 2007 at 3:03 pm and is filed under Equality, Queer. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.