Over the years I've been calling myself queer more and more frequently and I've even been known to refer to myself as a fag or a kike. Do I do this out of self-hatred? No. I once began a presentation affirming emphatically, "I'm a faggot, I'm a kike!" I went on to explain that people who hate me use these words to put me down or express disdain for me but I embrace these words. Why? Because I AM a faggot and I AM a kike and I embrace myself so I embrace these words because they simply describe me. I believe that by accepting these words we reclaim then and thereby stultify the verbal "stones" being thrown at us.

I especially like the word queer because of its communicative efficiency. This short five letter, one syllable word can be used to refer to the oft repeated mouthful Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender Community or some variation such as the Bisexual Transgender Gay Lesbian Community or better yet how about acronyms like GLBT or BLT. Is this a sandwich or a community? Talk about offending people!

There are other great reasons to use the word queer and of course one is that as an overarching term it's brings us together, it unites us, and as we describe ourselves so we become. That's not to say that our we aren't a diverse community but as such we have perhas an inherent need for unity, a unity that makes us stronger. Also, it's as a term that's been reclaimed there's a certain pride and confidence that is exuded when we use a word that we have actively taken back as our own. A word that has been reclaimed out of self respect, unity, confidence and pride is one that ought to be embraced.

Queer Powers Activate!

Welcome to the Big Queer Blog!