All my life I have been asked questions about who I am and what I am. As a young person, I found it difficult, as I did not feel at home in any of the booths that society has created. It is only later that I have found out that I am queer. For me, being queer is about being different of course, but also about being proud and about defining yourself. I don’t recognize myself in any of the other booths, and while I’m perfectly fine with people calling me gay, that’s not what I perceive myself to be or call myself. In your text, Markus, you write that you do not recognize yourself in the term queer, which today is mainly used by people with a sexual orientation other than heterophilia. It is probably the opposite of the English word “straight”, i.e. straight in Norwegian. I think it’s great that we’ve got a Norwegian word for “queer”, which makes sense if you look at the term in context. I use the term queer with pride, about myself, for myself. Also if I have to explain to other people who I am. I think it’s sad that you don’t have the same connection to it as I do, but I also respect that you don’t want to use it. The most important thing is that people can define themselves, right? I have gathered that some people think the term is silly and that it makes it seem like there is something wrong with non-heterosexual people. Mostly, I’ve seen this in the comments section of people who are older than me. This doesn’t mean much to me. Most people my own age understand what is involved in the term queer and they have no negative connotations to it either. It is the language users who change the language, and a word can have different meanings in different generations. Here, keiv is a good example of a change in the language, which I at least welcome. In any case, it is difficult to stop something that has already been incorporated into the language of young people. If you have a good alternative, please bring it up. That’s the beauty of language, it evolves. Many of the definitions you list in your post are something I don’t recognize. I think several queers agree with that. What kind of fetishes people have or how they want to start a family is not something that falls under the term weird for me. Those who call themselves queer today do so because it is inclusive and because it explains what they themselves know. It is not the case that a dictionary definition of a word should always define for us what the word means. Then the language would not have changed. I have many friends who call themselves queer, but who also use other words or concepts about themselves. I have no problems with this. What’s so nice about being queer is precisely that it holds so much, including what you might not understand about yourself. For me, it’s not about having to deny or not daring to choose an orientation, it’s about me being very comfortable not choosing. Society might want to put me in a box, but for me it’s more than good enough to be queer. There is nothing wrong with being queer. Remember that the painting hangs on the wall regardless of whether it hangs straight or crooked. After all, that is the most important thing. FOLLOW THE DEBATE:
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I’m queer and I’m proud – Statement
