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LGBT

valerief

(53,235 posts) Sat May 26, 2012, 10:23 PM May 2012

Question about good/bad words [View all]

I'm kinda old. When I was younger, words like "queer" and "dyke" were considered offensive. It's my understanding that nowadays those words have been re-co-opted by the LGBT community and are now "good" words both inside and outside the LGBT community. Am I correct about this or am I way off base? Thanks.

37 replies

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Question about good/bad words [View all] valerief May 2012 OP

I think you're right about 'queer'. napoleon_in_rags May 2012 #1

Thanks. That's good to hear. valerief May 2012 #2

"Queer" has definitely come full circle. Some others, as well, depending on context and situation. pinto May 2012 #3

59? A mere pup. (I'm eternally 39, just like Jack Benny.) valerief May 2012 #5

there's still a few of us alive that don't like it(Queer) mitchtv May 2012 #4

Okay, thanks. valerief May 2012 #6

Speaking of words, doesn't "pastor" mean sheep herder? MNBrewer May 2012 #9

Dyke and Queer are pretty common here FreeState May 2012 #7

Thanks. That's what I thought. A friend (another long-in-the-tooth DUer) didn't think so. valerief May 2012 #13

It depends on the context TheCruces May 2012 #8

This right here! Iggo May 2012 #10

Well, that makes perfect sense, and that's what I thought. Thanks. nt valerief May 2012 #14

I would never use either term susanr516 May 2012 #26

Words do have a tendency to change over time. SoutherDem May 2012 #11

That's either really funny or really over my head. valerief May 2012 #15

In many musical scores SoutherDem May 2012 #25

Ah. In Google Translate, it's Basson. Hence, my confusion. Ha! nt valerief May 2012 #27

i think those words are not ok used by straight people La Lioness Priyanka May 2012 #12

That's what an old friend of mine thinks, but I had the feeling things had changed. valerief May 2012 #16

if you're not part of the in-group you don't get to reclaim words La Lioness Priyanka May 2012 #18

I remember back when we had three races--Negroid, Mongloid, and Caucasoid. valerief May 2012 #19

i think communities use and change words as they think best fits them La Lioness Priyanka May 2012 #21

For me, dyke is offensive all the way around. Jamastiene May 2012 #33

I myself don't use either word in any context. William769 May 2012 #17

I'm a straight mamma of a lesbian here, but my advice is that hedgehog May 2012 #20

But, when you think of it, isn't that how Newspeak starts? valerief May 2012 #28

It's a matter of what you are trying to communicate, hedgehog May 2012 #29

I think context is everything, not specific words. I just hate "sin" words, because valerief May 2012 #30

For words like "queer" context is indeed everything! We need to take hedgehog May 2012 #31

I never use "queer" or "dyke" to reference a person/persons obamanut2012 May 2012 #22

i would say explicit understanding. La Lioness Priyanka May 2012 #23

True -- I was thinking between very good friends obamanut2012 May 2012 #24

"I do think that straight people should never, ever use those words" napoleon_in_rags May 2012 #35

Except I didn't do that obamanut2012 May 2012 #36

What I'm saying is that blacks shouldn't have it in their vocabulary either. napoleon_in_rags May 2012 #37

I think that a lot of it has to do with context and location... Fearless May 2012 #32

I am a gay man and I use gay to describe myself. beyurslf May 2012 #34