The main question that Annamarie Jagose is attempting to answer is “What is Queer?” Although Jagose attempts to answer this question by using facts and data she and others have gathered, I have come to more personal understanding of this word.
What is queer? According to Jagose queer is a word that is used to identify gays and lesbian. “Queer as a term of self-description is a relatively recent phenomenon, it is only the most recent in a series of words that have constituted the semantic force field of homosexuality since the nineteenth century”(72). Based on this description, queer is simply a word that people use to describe a group of people. Yet, this word is more than just a description. It could be a word that people use to identify themselves. But it could not be a word that people use to identify themselves.
The main point I gathered is that words can be powerful. Words can hold great meaning. They after all are used as identifying people. That is why labels are constantly changing. However, one thing is always constant. Humans need to identify themselves and they need to feel accept for who they chose to be. “Queer is not simply the latest example in a series of words that describe and constitute same-sex desire trans historically but rather a consequence of the constructions problematizing of any allegedly universal term”(74). Queer has been used to describe the gay community but now it seems as though this specific word has run its course. In fact, when I have heard this word used it has always been with a negative connotation. “Queer” has become an insult in many cases. This word has become a way to shame people who are simply living a different lifestyle than others. In my experience, queer has become a dirty word. However, that is not to say that we as society have backtracked on accepting gay and lesbian people.
Words are powerful, as such society keeps creating words that show acceptance for people who live differently than others. I am no expert and do not claim to be one, but I am aware of various words used to identify people of the gay community. Positive words consist of gay, lesbian, homosexual, and LGBT. These specific words, in my own personal opinion demonstrate respect to those who chose to identify as such. However, there will still be those people who chose to turn these words into vulgar words, words that are used to offend people. That is not to say that society has not come a long way since, the homophile movement.
Society keeps changing and with this change come acceptance of the homosexual community. Recently, the entire nation has voted to allow gay marriage. Coming from a time in which people could be killed for being gay, this is a huge step in the right direction in accepting people who are gay. Even if there are people who think gay people should not hold this right, it could be said that they are outnumbered by those people who support the gay community.
Society has also demonstrated their ability of acceptance with the media. Currently, there are various shows on television that showcase better understanding for gays. To mention a few, there are shows such as; Modern Family, Orange is the New Black, I am Jazz and various movies. The gay community is being represented in the media in a positive light.
Queer. What does this word mean? Queer could mean many different things to various people. As could gay, lesbian, transgender and bisexual. But these are just words that are used to describe a set of people just like straight and heterosexual is used to describe another set of people. In a society that requires labels, words will always be used to name people in a positive light and in a negative light. Words are important, but actions have always spoken louder than words. People continue to fight for what they believe in and they continue to stand up each time that they are thrown down. Our society continues to make progress, from gay marriage to representing the gay community positively in media. We simply have to keep moving forward and we all have to learn that words are just words. It is the people that matter in the end.
Jagose, Annamarie. Queer Theory: An Introduction. New York: New York UP, 1996. Print.
Very true, words--especially the words we use to describe ourselves, especially the words we use with regard to our genders and our sexualities--are extremely powerful. As you suggest, queer can be a weapon, a very negative word, but it can also be a word that empowers. (I'd be curious to read more about your thoughts on this aspect.) As you suggest, too, with the quotation you cite from Jagose, there's something different about the term queer--it doesn't function exactly like the other identity markers that you explore (homosexual, gay, lesbian, heterosexual, straight), and I'm left wondering, why is that? Beside having been a weapon, how would you say queer is different from these other terms? What does Jagose mean when she argues that queer is "a consequence of the constructions problematizing of any allegedly universal term” (74). Here's a question worth thinking more about ... and it seems to challenges us to not apply universally these terms that describe our most intimate parts of our selves.
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