Queer

:For the novel by William S. Burroughs, see Queer (novel).

Traditional usage

Since its emergence in the English language in the 16th century (related to the German quer, meaning 'across, at right angle, diagonally or transverse'), queer has generally meant 'strange', 'unusual', or 'out of alignment'. It might refer to something suspicious or 'not quite right', or to a person with mild insanity or who exhibits socially inappropriate behavior. The expression 'in Queer Street' was used in the UK in the early 20th century for someone in financial trouble. It gained its common implication of sexual deviance (especially that of homosexual and/or effeminate males) in the late 19th century; an early recorded usage of the word in this sense was in a letter by John Sholto Douglas, 9th Marquess of Queensberry to his son Lord Alfred Douglas.

Related Topics:
UK - John Sholto Douglas, 9th Marquess of Queensberry - Lord Alfred Douglas

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Subsequently, for most of the 20th century, 'queer' was used primarily as a derogatory term for effeminate and/or gay males, and others exhibiting non-traditional gender behavior, with the more general meaning gradually falling into disuse. During this transition, someone might use the term literally in the older sense, but implying the newer sense. For example, 'He's a queer fellow,' would ostensibly be a statement that the man is a bit odd, but the subtext was that the speaker believed him to be gay.

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The term was also used disparagingly by people within the lesbian and gay communities during much of the 20th century. It might be self-applied as a form of self-deprecation, or it might be aimed at another - perhaps more stereotypically 'gay' or less conventional - gay man or lesbian woman, as an epithet, suggesting that the target is even 'lower' than the speaker. It might also be used to take down a peer, by reminding him of his status in society: just a 'queer'.

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