LGBTQIA+. It’s a mouthful. This acronym has come from the original LGB (lesbian, gay, bisexual) to honor the entire community of folx with many a gender identity but who do not live and breathe in a hetero-normative world.
Before we tackle the queer vs gay question, let’s take a look at this acronym and the meaning of each letter. It’s important in order to understand the two terms we will be discussing.
Breaking Down The Letters
L is for Lesbian
There was a female Greek poet, Sappho, and her poetry became known as “sapphic,” which now refers to women who are sexually attracted to other women. Sappho was also from the island of Lesbos – ergo, the word lesbian.
Over the years, the term has evolved somewhat. But to this day, lesbian women define themselves as being sexually and/or romantically attracted to other women, including those who are bisexual and even transgender or non-binary people.
G is for Gay
The word gay originally referred to homosexuals. It was a negative inference, a slur, and is sometimes still used today in that context. Someone may say, “That is so gay” when referring to something distasteful or stupid.
It was after the Stonewall riots that the queer community began to reclaim the word, and gay sexuality came to describe men who are attracted to other men.
Going into the 70s, the word gay came to be a generalized term referring to the entire LGBT community. Thus, gay pride events.
So now we have lesbian and gay sexuality as the two big categories of homosexuality. The term homosexuality itself was coined in the late 1860s by Karoly Kertbeny, an Austro-Hungarian journalist, along with heterosexuality.
But, of course, there are more letters to go.
Bisexual
The same journalist, Kertbeny, coined the term bisexuality, but it was used to refer to someone who had both male and female physical characteristics, which now, of course, refers to intersex people.
Bisexuality, as it is now known, refers to individuals who do not have two different gender identities but, instead, to people who are attracted to more than one gender. This attraction can be fluid to multiple others, to members of the same gender, and to those with different sexual orientations. And this does not exclude transgenders.
Transgender
Sexuality and gender are two separate things. And that is the first step in understanding. Transgender people are those whose gender identity is the opposite of that with which they are born. Thus. a trans woman was born a male, and a trans man was born a female. To become who they really are, they may pursue a medical intervention, ranging from hormone therapy to full surgery. Some trans people choose not to transition at all and simply identify as non-binary. In terms of sexuality, trans people may come in all sorts of “flavors,” and their sexual activity may be of all sorts of types. This is why they are not excluded when speaking to sexual and romantic attractions between trans people and lesbians, gays, and bisexuals (not to mention others on the LGBTQ+ spectrum).
By the 90s, “T” was added to “LGB.” And even though they feel more accepted, there are still a lot of misunderstandings and hostility toward transgenders.
Q is for Queer
Like the term gay, the term queer has undergone plenty of evolution in meaning. In modern times, it has been used by straight people as a derogatory slur to anyone who is not heterosexual.
Again, the term has been reclaimed by the LGBTQ community and has become a popular umbrella term used to describe people of all sorts of sexualities and identities, and the letter “Q” was added to LGBT.
Q is Also for Questioning
Maybe there should be two Qs in the acronym. There are a whole host of people who are questioning their sexual orientation and/or gender identity and are still in the exploration stage. And that stage may even go on for years. They believe they are queer in some fashion but just don’t know where they fit.
Fortunately, the queer community is as welcoming to those who are questioning as to any other member.
The Plus Sign is For Everyone Else
It would be impossible to have an acronym that covers every label within the queer population. Thus, the + sign. It recognizes a large segment of this community whose gender identity and sexuality do not fit into the larger categories. There are those who identify as gender non-conforming, non-binary, and anything else other than straight.
I am for Intersex
This term is used to describe those who are born with both female and male physical characteristics. For most of these infants, parents and doctors make a gender decision, surgery is performed, and they become an assigned male or an assigned female. Their gender is assigned at birth, and they obviously have no say in their own gender. Unfortunately, complications can occur, usually when they move into puberty, and some of the characteristics of the gender other than the one assigned at birth begin popping up.
Intersex people form a unique population within the queer community, and so the “I” was added by many in the 2010s.
A is for Asexual (and More)
The Latin prefix “A” means “not.” Asexual is a generic term for those who have no sexual attraction to others, no matter what their gender identity might be. But the word encompasses much more than that. It is used to encompass those who are aromantic, agender, demisexual, demiromantic, and more. It now is one of those umbrella terms used to describe people on a whole spectrum of “A” anything.
Now that we have clarified a lot of what all of the letters in this acronym describe, it’s time to take a look at the terms “gay” and “queer” in more depth. Why? Because they are the most often terms used to describe a huge community with individuals of separate sexual orientation, gender identity, sexual and romantic attraction (or not), and many other detailed nuances within the community as a whole.
Queer Vs. Gay
These two words mean different things to different people. And both have a rather long history in how we describe them today. So, let’s begin with that history and then look at the similarities and differences between the two.
The Word Queer
Brief History
Until the early 20th century, the word “queer” referred to anything that people found strange or odd. The only exception was that it is recounted that during the trial of Oscar Wilde in the mid-1800s, the father of the young man he had an affair with referred to him as “queer” in a derogatory way.
During the 1920s, some members of the LGBTQ+ community, especially gay men, used the word “queer” to describe themselves and their homosexuality.
By the 1940s, the term “queer” was used as a derogatory slur to refer to anyone who was outside of the societal norm of heterosexuality. It was still used well into the 50s. and, actually, that slur does still hang around today.
But by the time of the AIDS epidemic and the activism it inspired, many began to look at reclaiming the term. One activist organization during this time called itself “Queer Nation” as a means of confronting those who were using the term as a slur. Other organizations in the fields of religion, health, and immigration have also joined in the confrontation.
Queer theory also emerged at this time. In short, this theory posits that society insists upon heteronormativity as a method of wielding power and control in all institutions. It serves to challenge all existing beliefs that heterosexuality is normal and moral and that only those sexually attracted to the opposite sex should hold positions of power and authority.
Who Chooses “Queer” as an Identity
In short, anyone who is a part of the LGBTQ community can refer to themselves as “queer.” In this sense, it is an umbrella term that has been embraced by many of any gender identity or sexual orientation that is opposite of heterosexual and/or cisgender. In short, queer people can be anyone in any category and along any spectrum of the community. Some, however, still avoid using the term to self-identify because of the continued negative connotations of those outside of the community.
The Word Gay
For most of history, the word gay had nothing to do with sex or love. It was a descriptive word meaning joyful, merry, happy, and bright (e.g., clothing). Around the 17th century, it was also used to refer to the art of poetry.
So, were there any early signs of gay relating to sex? Yes, actually, there were. Brothels, for example, were called “gay houses,” although that was still a heterosexual thing.
By the late 19th and early 20 centuries, the term homosexual was in use. It was considered a mental disorder that could be treated and hopefully cured. Simultaneously, there were significant laws passed all over the developed world making homosexual activity a crime. And because the UK was a colonial power, these laws were all over the place. These laws against same sex activity continued to be enforced until the mid-20th century, and some are still law in former British colonies. But by this time, gay had also come to be a substitute for the term homosexual.
During this time, the Gay Liberation Front was founded, along with other organizations using the same term, and these operated as activists for homosexuality of both sexes, pushing for decriminalization of homosexual activities and relationships and equality in all areas of society and the law. The terms “gay rights” and “gay pride” ultimately became an umbrella term to refer to the entire LGBTQIA+ community in its quest for recognition and equality, no matter what the gender identity, sexual orientation, sexual attraction, romantic attraction, or anyone who might identify as non-heterosexual and/or non-cisgender.
Which brings us to the point of the article – queer vs. gay – similarities and differences
Similarities
The single most important similarity between the terms queer and gay is that each has become an umbrella term in the LGBT community, although maybe not to the same degree and in the same way.
Gay
Today, the term gay has become a “catch-all” word within the entire community as it recognizes and honors all people of any gender identity, sexual orientation, romantic or sexual attraction, and even those who are questioning and exploring their identities. Here are examples of the use of the term as fully inclusive:
Gay Rights
Gay Pride
Gay Marriage
These phrases are meant to be all-inclusive of the entire LGBTQIA+ population, and so gay people can often be those through the entire rainbow spectrum in some circumstances.
Queer
Once the word queer began to be used to refer to non-hetero people, it referred primarily to males and females who had romantic and sexual attraction to the same gender as they were, but more to men who were involved in same-sex relationships.
And more often than not, the term was used as a slur by those who opposed the sexual orientation. They believed that same-gender relationships were immoral and/or a result of mental illness and that people of this sexual orientation were to be treated with disdain or laughed at. Bullying was common then, just as it is today.
In the 60s and 70s, as members of the LGBTQ+ community embraced activism to fight for their rights, they began to reclaim the word queer, many chanting and singing such phrases as, “We’re here because we’re queer!”
And so, queer became an umbrella term, too, referring to people of any gender identity, any sexual orientation, and any other non-hetero self-identification.
Differences
Those who have studied logic in school are familiar with the syllogism. Here is an example of a valid one:
All dogs are mammals; Fido is a dog. Therefore, Fido is a mammal.
Here’s one that is not valid. All mammals are animals; A bird is an animal. Therefore, a bird is a mammal.
Now, let’s try a syllogism using gay and queer.
All gays are queer; Bill is gay; therefore, Bill is queer.
All gays are queer; Bill is queer; therefore, Bill is gay.
And this begins to point out the differences between the terms gay and queer.
Gender Identity
The term gay, even though it has some umbrella uses, typically refers to people who have sexual attraction to those whose gender identity is the same as theirs. More specifically, it is used to describe males, while women who are sexually attracted to other women are called lesbians. Still, lesbian women also use the term gay to describe themselves – lesbian gay, to be specific. Sexual attraction is not the only attraction, although it can be. Both lesbian, gay women and gay men can be romantically attracted as well – in fact, this is often the case. But in all cases, they are gender binary.
Gay women and men do form long-term partnerships (and marriages). There was no equality act that made gay marriage legal, but a Supreme Court decision in 2015 did so – even better than a marriage equality act.
Queer Identity
The term queer describes people within the LGBTQ+ community not in terms of having a gender identity but, instead, a “sexual orientation that is not heterosexual and/or a gender identity that is not cisgender.” (cisgender being related to the sex assigned at birth).
So, some people can self-identify as gay and as queer, and that is their right.
But the term queer by itself is far more encompassing than gay. It includes those of all gender identities; it includes anyone who has abandoned their sex assigned at birth (e.g., transgender people); it includes aromantic and asexual people; it includes all non-binary people who do not identify as male or female and those with intersex issues; it includes those who claim an identity as bisexual; it includes those who are attracted to people who identify as sexually fluid or exploring how they want to identify.
In short, the term queer is all-inclusive of everyone within the LGBTQIA+ community.
So, What’s the Point?
Gay and queer mean different things to different people. But anyone who wants to identify as either or both has the right to do so.
It’s probably time to get beyond the words and look toward what everyone in the community has in common. Whether a person is non-binary, a lesbian, transgender, bisexual, attracted to people of more than one gender, or even straight who is exploring how they want to identify, words really are not important.
It’s a community, a large one, with people who identify in all sorts of ways and who are attracted to people in all sorts of ways. How they identify is not the point. The point is unity and mutual support so that, as a minority group in society, they present a united front that promotes honor and dignity to all of its members.
Social Media as a Queer Safe Haven(Opens in a new browser tab)
References
References are listed in the order in which they appear in the text.
LGBTQIA+ Meaning of Each Letter – Parade
Somewhere on the A-Spectrum: Agender, aromantic and asexual people face misconceptions, aggression | News | utdailybeacon.com
What does ‘queer’ mean? Definition and history (medicalnewstoday.com)
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