Queer

Origins and early use

The word queer entered the English language in the 16th century, originally meaning strange, odd or peculiar. By the late 19th century it was beginning to acquire a connotation of sexual deviance in the UK, used to refer to men perceived as effeminate or thought to have engaged in same-sex relationships.

In early 20th century London, gay men adopted queer as a discreet in-group term — a form of coded language that could be used in public without attracting the attention of those unaware of its meaning, at a time when homosexual activity was a criminal offence under the Labouchere Amendment of 1885. The Lyon's Corner House in Piccadilly Circus was among the social venues where gay men gathered, with a section known as the "Lily Pond" becoming a recognised meeting place from around 1910 .

The word as pejorative and reclamation

Queer carried a double meaning from early in its use as a term for homosexuality: a 1914 slang dictionary noted it was already "derogatory from the outside, not from within" — meaning it functioned simultaneously as a hostile term used by outsiders and a guarded, in-group term among some gay men.

By the 1920s, "gay" was emerging as an alternative in-group term, seen by many as carrying less of the word's negative baggage. By around 1940, "gay" had become the dominant term of self-reference for homosexual people in many English-speaking contexts, and "queer" was increasingly associated almost exclusively with its hostile, pejorative use. From the 1940s through to at least the 1980s, "queer" functioned predominantly as a slur, used interchangeably with other derogatory terms for gay people. For many gay people who lived through this period, the word carries lasting negative associations, and it continues to be rejected by some as offensive regardless of later attempts to reclaim it.

Letter in Dec 2024 rejecting the use of the word queer for gay men

From the late 1980s, the word began to be deliberately reclaimed, initially by queer activists and academics, as a neutral or positive umbrella term for LGBT identities and a rejection of fixed categories of gender and sexuality. This reclamation does not erase the word's long history as a slur, and its use remains genuinely contested within the LGBT community: some embrace it as an inclusive, deliberately broad self-identifier, while others — including many who experienced it as an insult in earlier decades — continue to find it offensive or simply prefer not to use it of themselves.

In 2005, the Chief Constable of North Wales apologised after calling homosexuals "queer".

Many people reject the term queer as abusive

Organisations and groups using the word Queer

Queer has figured in a positive sense in the names of a number of LGBT organisations, groups, or events, for instance:

• Queer Goings On
• Queer Youth Network
• Queer Social Centre
• Queer Ink
• Queer Love Quest
• Queer Notions
• Queer Space
• Croydon Queer Choir
• Outburst Queer Arts Festival
• Foyle 'Queer' History Project
• Queer Up North

Books and resources

It has also appeared in the title