Can straight people call themselves queer without being appropriative?
Here, experts break down what constitutes queer cultural appropriation.
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I proudly began considering myself a queer bisexual dyke.
Experts in This Article
Bahiyyah Maroon, PhD, is an anthropologist and social-change advocate.
For instance, some who are polyamorous or who belong to the kink community might identify as queer.
Bahiyyah Maroon, PhD, is an anthropologist and social-change advocate.
If history has taught us anything, when it comes to identity, there is no one-size-fits-all answer.
Its a word that could have been used to describe anyone or anything deemed abnormal.
For example, it could describe an unwedded woman and a person doing a funny dance alike.
These days, the definition of queer varies based on whos doing the defining.
(Allosexual is the opposite of asexual,describing people whodoexperience sexual attraction.)
So, can someone straight be queer?
To contextualize why, Hamel suggests considering those who are transgender or intersex.
When the wordqueerwas reclaimed, it wasnt just LGB folks who were doing the work, he says.
It was the entire LGBTQIA+ community, including those folks.
Bahiyyah Maroon, PhD, is an anthropologist and social-change advocate.
With this in mind, some peopleparticularly those who are trans or intersexmight indeed be both queerandheterosexual.
In other words, they dont identify as queer because of their sexuality, but because of their gender.
And not all people in that experience identify as queer.
The only way to know how someone identifies is for them to tell us, says Hamel.
Can someone heterosexual, cisgender, and allosexual ever be queer?
In my opinion, identifying as LGBTQIA+ is a prerequisite for identifying as queer, she says.
If you are not those things, it would be more accurate to call yourself a queer ally.
Identifying as LGBTQIA+ is a prerequisite for identifying as queer, she says.
If you are not those things, it would be more accurate to call yourself a queer ally.
In short: It would be a form of appropriation.
The result of gatekeeping is that it disconnects a person from their identity.
It can be an incredibly disembodied experience, she says.
To put further limitations on who is and is not queer runs the risk of gatekeeping, she says.
Ultimately, someone absolutelycanbe straight and queer.
But which straight folks should take on the label is a matter of historical understanding and discretion.
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