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Tory MP Nadine Dorries: 'The gay marriage bill is taking the sex out of marriage'
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Government to consider abolishing civil partnerships or opening up to straight couples
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Philip Hammond: 'No great demand for gay marriage and it's upsetting vast numbers of people'
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US Radio host: Gay news websites are covered with porn that is turning teens gay
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Tory MP David Burrowes: 'I'm not anti-gay; I'm just pro-marriage'
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Christians called to pray at Parliament in opposition to equal marriage bill
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Tory MP David Burrowes: I only want a referendum on same-sex marriage so I can defeat the government's bill
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Bad Name … Could it not be changed? its a kinda double standard to use Queer but then state, people (mainly straight) can not call gay people Queer.
Only to the same extent as it is that black guys can call each other N****
But can you really see a website called WikiN***** existing. From my experience, when a black guy uses that word for another black guy, it’s usually as an insult to them. I don’t use offensive slang words to describe myself that someone who hates me made up . Do you?
Precisely. Even you won’t say the word, and PN would block it anyway.
I find the word “Queer” offensive and overtly political.
Tough, Spanner. Others (and they seem to be far younger than me) are proudly queer. The notion of “taking back the slur and re-empowering it for our use” may seem alien, but I’ve struggled with “the word,” and there are more POSTIVIE synonms around “queer” than negatives.
So tell me why you can say “Queer” on here but everyone visibly winces when somebody says “Niġġer”?
If you wish to denigrate yourself, that’s fine by me, but don’t expect the rest of us who just want to have a quiet life and expect to be treated as everyone else to start hurling veiled insults at one another just to appease your politics.
Which is it?
‘offensive’ or ‘overtly political’….?
The two by definition are mutually exclusive…
Tell that to PN. You can’t even type N@zi because they consider it both.
Not at all – as we’ve been over so many times on Pink News Comments Boards, the word ‘Queer’ has been used as an acceptable term by LGBT Political community for near to 30 years now.
I always find it somewhat odd when there is such an outcry about its use when very few people bat an eyelid at the ongoing and kneejerk racism and bigotry on these boards…
Acceptable by who? Not by me, and not by many others.
Even Peter Tatchell has stopped using it because he knows it pisses a lot of us off.
Quite apart from the name, there are questions as to whether this is needed at all and how its accuracy will be maintained. Wikipedia operates on an assumption of an informed mob of member editors who refine entries whilst adhering to certain codes, eg citing references, no abuse etc. Yet even wikipedia has trouble maintaining standards – you’ll find that Labour MP entries have entries for any dirt that can be thrown at them whereas the Tory MP ones often seem like press releases by their fan clubs. Will there be enough member editors to overturn incorrect entries and stick at doing so to get towards a consensus view based on verifiable evidence?
Sorry I hit a thumbs up, but it appears down. I agree with you, it’s bound to be a target for trolls, so will need assiduous editing.
I wonder if Keith is in it, under the reference headings “Drunken”, “Ex-Gay Nut”, and “Coward”?
Keith [keeth] -noun
1. To be Drunk
2. A reference to an “Ex Gay” Failure
3. To be obsessed with one’s anus and the act of gay sex.
4. The act, or state of being, in reference to being weak, spineless and/or an lying alcoholic with mental health issues.
Usage:
- “He was a total Keith”
- “That man in the park at 4am was so crazy, I though he was a Keith”
I always thought a keith was a nonce.
Your comment is especially awesome to me as I’m a gay transgender man who’s name happens to be Keith. Do I claim to be “ex-gay” or am I an alcoholic, homophobe, or a coward? None of the above, thanks. Try living your life as an out transperson of any stripe and then talk to me about cowardice.
“A total Keith”? Yeah, I am. I chose my name and there’s nothing inherently negative about it. It’s just me.
[Why is taking 3 goes to post this?]
Don’t take it personally, it’s a reference to PN’s most dedicated troll whose name is apparently Keith, though he now has to use a variety of (usually lavatorial) pseudonyms as he’s been banned so many times.
““A total Keith”? Yeah, I am. I chose my name and there’s nothing inherently negative about it. It’s just me.”
As Rehan said, you haven’t met THE Keith yet. My comments were not address to every Keith (that would just be weird), just him.
….aqnd he’s here down below under the apt title of “poo pushing brigade” – THIS creature calls himself Keith.
Bloke rushes into a police station and shouts out “Help!, I’ve just been keithed…”
I tend to agree with Mr. Legge. “Wiki-Queer” is not going to get the respect they seek as a serious source of information. It is also terrible to tell a fledgling gay teen that his new world’s best authorities accept the label “queer”, which is defined as mentally unbalanced, deranged, unusually different, of a questionable nature or character, suspicious, and shady.
Many young gays do not understand the complex humor in self-deprecation as weapon against bigotry.
“Queer” is fine for a stand-up comic with an adult audience, but it’s a terrible idea as a “professional source” of information.
Seriously?
“Queer” is fine for a stand-up comic with an adult audience
How does that differ from “Facebook” “Twitter” the “FA” or any other blog that has recently been highlighted “it was a laugh… or a bit of fun” “wasn’t meant to be offensive” that resulted in fines and suspensions?
Don’t like the use of this word! Still a derogatory term in my book. A habit we should grow out of. GAY WIKI is more catchy or LGBT WIKI would be better.
Agreed
Queer includes the whole gamut of sexuality/sexual expression/gender identity which even the term LGBT doesnt include.
Personally I think the term WikiQueer is a very good name.
…’WikiLGBT’ doesnt really have the same ring to it does it…
And ‘WikiGay’….!?!?!? lol
bad name true. but at least they’re trying to promote the LGBT news stories in a positive light, Give them a chance before you lot start hounding them……….
“Queer” Always was and will be a pejorative! It’s up there with the “F” word!
“Queer” reclaimed word is a word that was formerly used solely as a slur but that has been semantically overturned by members of the maligned group, who use it as a term of defiant pride. Queer is an example of a word undergoing this process. For decades queer was used solely as a derogatory adjective for gays and lesbians, but in the 1980s the term began to be used by gay and lesbian activists as a term of self-identification. Eventually, it came to be used as an umbrella term that included gay men, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgendered people. Nevertheless, a sizable percentage of people to whom this term might apply still hold queer to be a hateful insult, and its use by heterosexuals is often considered offensive. Similarly, other reclaimed words are usually offensive to the in-group when used by outsiders, so extreme caution must be taken concerning their use when one is not a member of the group.
I wanted to chime in real quick – just so folks know that we did put thought into these concerns and share some insight. I’ll likely be writing more about this on WikiQueer and I’ll likely not reply again. Also, as an online community, the volunteers running WikiQueer have say in this too. :)
The truth is – there is no good term to describe our entire communities globally. Any term you pick, I promise you, someone is going to find fault with. Domain name availability, marketability, pronunciation, etc. all make this one of my least favorite tasks. :)
I recognize the name has flaws, but I feel it is the best option available and ultimately not our largest barrier. No doubt, it will continue to come up and I think that’s good. Folks from several generations, continents, cultures, genders and sexual orientations weighed in – discourse is important and healthy. I would also point to Queer the Vote and Queer the Census efforts in the US as other efforts to reclaim the word.
WickiGBLT?
Around the world the GBLT are fighting for human rights, acceptance and equality. We argue for these because as humans we are no different than any one else.
It is therefore counter productive to reinvent the word “Queer” which by it’s very definition is “different – odd – unusual – irregular”
To imply this is generational or cultural does not change history. it’s little more than contemptible!
GBLT? Even you cannot get it right. Most of us refer to it as LGBT, or variations/additions on that. If we can’t even decide on a blanket name for ourselves, what hope have we of ever convincing anybody else we are a unified force?
I thought people in the US use a different order (though I thought it was GLBT)?
Sure, why not go the whole hog and call it the “Faggot Dictionary” or “Shirtlifter’s Lexicon”?
I find this just as offensive.
The word ‘faggot’ doesn’t really have any real weight in the UK
‘Fags’ being the word people use for cigarettes and ‘faggots’ being both twiglets and wood used for making fires and also a kind of sweetbread meat thingy…
Twiglets? I like Twiglets and I never heard them called a faggot.
They could perhaps have talked to the UK LGBT groups already running databases http://www.turingnetwork.org.uk/
@robert legge, “thank you” for the opening comment! I am there 100% on the hypocrisy of double standard use of pejoratives.
I wonder if Keith is in it, under the reference headings “Drunken”, “Ex-Gay Nut”, and “Coward”?
Keith [keeth] – noun
1. To be Drunk
2. A reference to an “Ex Gay” Failure
3. To be obsessed with one’s anus and the act of gay sex.
4. The act, or state of being, in reference to being weak, spineless and/or an lying alcoholic with mental health issues.
Usage:
- “He was a total Keith”
- “That man in the park at 4am was so crazy, I though he was a Keith”
Please ignore it Will in future. Troll’s feed of attention. You are giving it what it wants. The sad fool will disappear if EVERYONE just ignores him and thumbs down his comments so no one has to read them.
Have you never heard of glbtq.com–the online encyclopedia of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer culture? It is the largest resource of its kind and features 2,000 signed articles and special features.
Thanks for posting this. With all of the dithering about semantics, I appreciate someone having cut through the crapstorm and providing objective information. Sounds as though THAT site will be a useful starting point for WikiQueer writers to use as an example.
No wonder nobody can find it.
The word queer has been reclaimed by the LGBT community to mean anyone belonging to a minority sexual or gender identity, therefore making it more inclusive than LGBT. The Queer Youth Network for example is the UK’s national organisation. I really don’t see an issue with it. I even identify as queer.
Bollocks has it. I’m gay. Queers are just a bunch of lefty faggot reactionaries.
If you wish to identify with them that is entirely up to you but don’t tar the rest of us with your socio-political brush.
lol ‘lefty’ eh?
Your use of that word says FAR more about you than your bullheaded refusal to take on board what people are saying about the use of the word ‘Queer’…
Yup. Certainly does, comrade.
Then why not LGBTQ or similar, H? That would be more inclusive. I personally have never and would never identify myself as queer so I’d have wished for a more neutral-type name. But LGBTQ or whatever would please us both, I hope.
I used to think the ‘Q’ in LGBTQ stood for ‘Queer’ anyway lol
And whilst ‘Questioning’ makes some degree of sense – so does ‘Queer’ for all the reasons outlined above.
I think people who have been around some degree of Gay Politics over the past 30 years are probably far more comfortable with the term than perhaps people who haven’t been.
I suspect for LGBT people generally outside of those political & academic circles its more about shock than it is about the inherent ‘wickedness’ (pun intended…!) of ‘Queer’…
Whilst it is the more revolutionary individuals who continue to use it with disregard for history. Perhaps you will find it more contrary that the older people are the more and more offensive they find it.
There is a great disparity in the perception of how offensive it is when used by Americans vs the British where it had it’s most bigoted impact on individuals.
The creation of the LGBT was originally to internationally become all encompassing genders with a neutrality that was free of previous bigotry
No matter how much focus persist on it’s reclaimed reinvention, it will always be viewed as a vile, bigoted offensive reference. It will therefore anger many who for their lifetime refuse to be identified or demeaned by it.