I'm taking the liberty of putting this eloquent comment on the main page . . .
I read through the comments in the linked article, and it's missing some historical perspective. This information may be unpopular with some, but it's fact and not opinion. I write as one who was deeply involved in campus and community LGBT organizations in my militant youth, returning to volunteer and organize again in just the last couple years.
The idea to embrace the term "Queer" as a replacement synonym of L G B T + came from a late 1980's national organization called "Queer Nation", which had seized the spotlight at the time, and was getting a lot of Press attention. They rather brazenly asserted that they had the agreement and support of most 'formerly' LGB+ organizations to adopt this new term. Well, that was news to many of my friends, but out of awkward solidarity for our successful Queer Nation comrades, many of us politely took a "yeah, sure" position on that.
Years have passed. "Queer" has since been a relatively universal synonym for LGBTQ+ organizations, which even the straights are acquainted with. Battles have waged about whether the self-designation is even voluntary, or if rejecting it is a sign of internalized homophobia. I think this comes down to how secure you are, vs how badly you want to belong to a group.
But today, in my city, "Queer" now means Trans. Trans people have replaced traditionally LGB people in every organization and liaison office. The Out Youth group is almost all trans-boys with a tiny holdout of LGB who "aren't ready" to embrace their "true gender". Under the authority of being legitimately "Queer", Trans 'leaders' and 'experts' are aggressively re-writing LGBT+ history to, not just emphasize the understated Trans and drag element of Gay Liberation, but erase the contributions of the LGB communities. It's conscious and calculated. "CIS" males and females are, at best, 2nd class now. I've seen then driven away if they don't quit out of exasperation.
This alt-gender-biased propaganda has the effect of reinforcing public opinion that LGBTQ+ people are all just "confused about their gender", like was believed in the bad old days before Gay Liberation. It has largely destroyed the progress made which establishes that LGBTQ+ people include a majority of folks with significant same-sex attraction, who are simply indistinguishable from "straight" folks in any other way. Credible evidence that homosexuality is common and normal. Queer leaders are hostile to this idea. I suppose it makes them seem less special.
I'm not on a crusade to put down our beautiful "weird" people, but to carry a lamp for common folks such as myself. They stay in the closet because they look at the visible LGBTQ+ world and see precious little to identify with. At the very least, one should respect my right to express my true self and hail those such as me. But, that's no longer an option in the brave new Trans/Queer world. My existence is a contradiction of the "new truth" and that's a problem for some people. Since I can't be "corrected", then like Queer Nation previously did, they aim to label me and invalidate me along with the other 'disloyal CIS' dinosaurs. They're all about "being yourself", nonconformity and "embracing diversity" unless you're not trans-gender-y and fabu like they are. This is not a true LGBTQ+ movement. It's a sham and an insult. And a tragedy
The idea to embrace the term "Queer" as a replacement synonym of L G B T + came from a late 1980's national organization called "Queer Nation", which had seized the spotlight at the time, and was getting a lot of Press attention. They rather brazenly asserted that they had the agreement and support of most 'formerly' LGB+ organizations to adopt this new term. Well, that was news to many of my friends, but out of awkward solidarity for our successful Queer Nation comrades, many of us politely took a "yeah, sure" position on that.
Years have passed. "Queer" has since been a relatively universal synonym for LGBTQ+ organizations, which even the straights are acquainted with. Battles have waged about whether the self-designation is even voluntary, or if rejecting it is a sign of internalized homophobia. I think this comes down to how secure you are, vs how badly you want to belong to a group.
But today, in my city, "Queer" now means Trans. Trans people have replaced traditionally LGB people in every organization and liaison office. The Out Youth group is almost all trans-boys with a tiny holdout of LGB who "aren't ready" to embrace their "true gender". Under the authority of being legitimately "Queer", Trans 'leaders' and 'experts' are aggressively re-writing LGBT+ history to, not just emphasize the understated Trans and drag element of Gay Liberation, but erase the contributions of the LGB communities. It's conscious and calculated. "CIS" males and females are, at best, 2nd class now. I've seen then driven away if they don't quit out of exasperation.
This alt-gender-biased propaganda has the effect of reinforcing public opinion that LGBTQ+ people are all just "confused about their gender", like was believed in the bad old days before Gay Liberation. It has largely destroyed the progress made which establishes that LGBTQ+ people include a majority of folks with significant same-sex attraction, who are simply indistinguishable from "straight" folks in any other way. Credible evidence that homosexuality is common and normal. Queer leaders are hostile to this idea. I suppose it makes them seem less special.
I'm not on a crusade to put down our beautiful "weird" people, but to carry a lamp for common folks such as myself. They stay in the closet because they look at the visible LGBTQ+ world and see precious little to identify with. At the very least, one should respect my right to express my true self and hail those such as me. But, that's no longer an option in the brave new Trans/Queer world. My existence is a contradiction of the "new truth" and that's a problem for some people. Since I can't be "corrected", then like Queer Nation previously did, they aim to label me and invalidate me along with the other 'disloyal CIS' dinosaurs. They're all about "being yourself", nonconformity and "embracing diversity" unless you're not trans-gender-y and fabu like they are. This is not a true LGBTQ+ movement. It's a sham and an insult. And a tragedy
The most recent study shows that only 5% in this research study affirm it for themselves. Which in turn suggests that the aggressive promotion of that word by the sliver of those who control LGBTQ communications is representative only of themselves. How about if we decide to live our lives without labels?
https://www.buzzfeed.com/dominicholden/lgbtq-in-the-us-poll?utm_term=.pcqqgvaA5#.abpJMgPea
