Talk:queer

Translations (2004)
The French and Italian translations on this page are probably not in the right section, but since I don't know those languages I can't easily correct them. I've marked them with HTML comments; can someone verify them, please? -- Ortonmc 05:03, 16 Jan 2004 (UTC)


 * The French translations are both adjectives. The distinction between (1) and (2) is correct.  However, the translation given for (2) is a derogatory term.  This raises a question about the English definition.  Essentially, "queer" meaning "homosexual" was formerly a derogatory term, and is sometimes still used as such.  However, it is also now used (particularly by homosexuals themselves) without any negative connotation at all.  Should this be a single definition (as now) but with a usage note added, or two separate definitions (to aid differentiation of translations)? Amatlexico 07:36, 16 Jan 2004 (UTC)


 * In my opinion, a usage note has to be added. By the way, what is Wiki*'s politics on offensive and taboo words? I added педал as the Bulgarian equivalent of queer, but this is highly offensive to homosexuals. What can you advise me? Webkid 08:01, 16 Jan 2004 (UTC)


 * They are merely words, so I think we should add them. Describing words and explaining their usage, that's what we are trying to do. Of course, it is very important you indicate that it is very offensive. Otherwise this might create embarassing situations. It if perfectly all right to add usage notes. When they become too long, create an entry for the word and describe it further there. Polyglot 10:40, 16 Jan 2004 (UTC)


 * I agree with Polyglot here - I don't believe that Wiktionary should be bowdlerised or censored to protect its users' sensibilities. The usage note clearly points out that "queer" is offensive in the sense of "homosexual" and also that it is a term that has been reclaimed by gay people.  In my opinion, this is sufficient to prevent any offence that might be caused and to show that Wiktionary is responsible in how it defines its entries.  (See also my comment below about "nigger"). -- Paul G 11:49, 17 Jan 2004 (UTC)

Usage note (2004)
I note there is no usage note at "nigger", which has a history of usage similar to "queer". I will add one. -- Paul G 11:49, 17 Jan 2004 (UTC)

I'm happy with the usage note in principle, but it could be trimmed a bit. Also, we generally put usage notes further down the page. One could argue that a few highly-charged words might merit a more prominent note. Personally, I'm undecided. -dmh 03:00, 15 October 2005 (UTC)

Too many usage notes
Too many usage notes. We should convert some to glosses (e.g. "formerly pejorative"), and try to source some of the other statements for accuracy. Equinox ◑ 18:35, 21 April 2013 (UTC)

Slur use and its application
I think the discussion of the historic use of "queer" as a slur is missing some nuance. Yes, it literally was a slur for "gay man," but it was applied to transgender women and bisexual men just as often. I know this as someone who grew up in the 1990s; it was applied to many people who were not gay on the basis that they were perceived as being such. Ligata (talk) 09:24, 3 August 2017 (UTC)
 * I have tried to edit this to reflect it; of course I might not have done it correctly so please feel free to let me know. Ligata (talk) 09:32, 3 August 2017 (UTC)

New England slang
It's not listed at Appendix:Glossary_of_Boston_slang, but "queer" (or even "quare") has definitely been used in the Eastern Mass. area to mean "unpopular, uncool, stupid," as in "you're so queer" or "that's wicked fricken queer," similar to slang use of retarded. I suspected that this use stemmed from the "weird, unusual" meaning, but it might not be so. - 63.82.135.13 00:11, 26 July 2019 (UTC)


 * Perhaps more likely from the "gay" sense, since gay is used the same way. Equinox ◑ 08:53, 26 July 2019 (UTC)

Further meanings not mentioned
There's also, extending from 'strange, quaint', the semantic complex 'suspect, suspicious, dubious', or colloquially: 'fishy, iffy, dodgy'. I suspect it might have been specifically this meaning that led to the negative concept of queer as an attribute of people, specifically people whose relationship to gender and sexuality defied social norms (presumably, predominantly those perceived as gender-nonconforming men, such as queens and fairies, due to their high visibility and the alarm they caused): as these people were associated with the demi-monde, with petty criminality, and perceived as disreputable and lawless, at odds with bourgeois order, they were treated as not only strange, but inherently suspect. --Florian Blaschke (talk) 02:08, 27 April 2020 (UTC)

Tea Room discussion re pejorativeness, etc
Just noting for future findability that the use of this word is discussed at Tea room/2020/September. - -sche (discuss) 19:07, 7 September 2020 (UTC)

Possible missing obsolete slang sense
John Camden Hotten's Slang Dictionary (1873) gives queer as "an old cant word ... signifying base, roguish, or worthless, — the opposite of rum, which signified good and genuine." Equinox ◑ 01:12, 19 April 2021 (UTC)

1894 verb citation
The one that says: ''"Where do you come from?" Stanley queered.'' I strongly suspect this is a scanno for "queried", i.e. asked. Equinox ◑ 21:21, 13 September 2021 (UTC)
 * Not a scanno as Trove shows; maybe a typo or Australian? --Myrelia (talk) 21:40, 13 September 2021 (UTC)