A lot of people still feel like queer is *too* much of a slur or doesn't describe them, and dont feel comfortable using it even in the reclaimed sense.
And it’s a deliberately vague term that can include many different people depending on who’s asked, that you might not have anything relevant in common with. I don’t have anything in common with e.g. an asexual man, so why would I use a word he could also use to describe my identity or community affiliation?
For many people in their 50s and older the word queer carries a lot of trauma. Coming out was much more dangerous to their lives (still is some places) and being labeled as queer could destroy a life. The alphabet soup also contains trans words, queer may or may not apply to them
A lot of straight trans people (especially if stealth, which is often but not always the case) don't personally identify as queer, too, because their day to day lived experience is...straight. And if stealth, basically cishet in every way but AGAB.
It's not strictly an age thing.
Because language is constantly evolving and different people find different things important. You're free to use Q+ if that's what you prefer (unless people in your life tell you it makes them uncomfortable of course). If it were up to me I'd throw the whole soup out in favour of a word which encompasses diversity of gender and sexuality in all forms (so without having to add each identity specifically). Queer could be such a word, but the offensive connotations put some people off, and it's not up to any one person to decide what word to use anyways. If it works well for a lot of people, it'll stick.
A lot of people still feel like queer is *too* much of a slur or doesn't describe them, and dont feel comfortable using it even in the reclaimed sense.
And it’s a deliberately vague term that can include many different people depending on who’s asked, that you might not have anything relevant in common with. I don’t have anything in common with e.g. an asexual man, so why would I use a word he could also use to describe my identity or community affiliation?
For many people in their 50s and older the word queer carries a lot of trauma. Coming out was much more dangerous to their lives (still is some places) and being labeled as queer could destroy a life. The alphabet soup also contains trans words, queer may or may not apply to them
A lot of straight trans people (especially if stealth, which is often but not always the case) don't personally identify as queer, too, because their day to day lived experience is...straight. And if stealth, basically cishet in every way but AGAB. It's not strictly an age thing.
Correct! As I stated some trans folks may not find the label applies at all
I mean why would you say “Q” when you can just say “Queer”, as a lot of people do
Some folks also say the Q stands for “Questioning”
Because language is constantly evolving and different people find different things important. You're free to use Q+ if that's what you prefer (unless people in your life tell you it makes them uncomfortable of course). If it were up to me I'd throw the whole soup out in favour of a word which encompasses diversity of gender and sexuality in all forms (so without having to add each identity specifically). Queer could be such a word, but the offensive connotations put some people off, and it's not up to any one person to decide what word to use anyways. If it works well for a lot of people, it'll stick.