Queercore

Queercore is a cultural and social movement which arose in the mid 1980s. It is distinguished by discontent with society in general and a disavowal of the mainstream gay and lesbian community in particular, expressing itself through zines, music, art and film.

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J.D.s, created by G.B. Jones and Bruce LaBruce, is widely acknowledged as being the zine which launched the movement. At first the editors of J.D.s had chosen the appellation "homocore" to describe the movement but replaced the word homo with queer to better reflect the diversity of the scene as well as to position themselves firmly outside of gay and lesbian orthodoxy. The first issue was released in 1985, with a manifesto entitled "Don't Be Gay" published in the fanzine Maximum RocknRoll following soon after; inspiring, among many other zines, Holy Titclamps, edited by Larrybob, Homocore by Deke Nihilson and Tom Jennings, Donna Dresch's Chainsaw, and Outpunk by Matt Wobensmith, these last two later functioning as music labels. These zines, and the movement, are characterized by sexual and gender diversity; dissatisfaction with a consumerist culture, proposing a DIY ethos in its place; and opposition to religious and political repression.

1980: 1980 is a leap year starting on Tuesday....

Gay: Until several decades ago, the word gay meant something like "jolly" or "mirthful", as in the French gai. In contemporary usage, however, that meaning is uncommon nowadays; the term is usually synonymous with "homosexual." When referring to a group of people, the term often means "male homosexual"...

Lesbian: A lesbian is a homosexual woman. Lesbians are sexually and romantically attracted to other women. One might argue that one is not a lesbian (as a noun) but lesbian (as an adjective). This can depend on self-identification and varies among most lesbians/lesbian women....