Its Just LGBT

It started out as a slur towards those deemed not normal or wrong. Now it’s being reclaimed by those it would be targeted to. It’s commonly added to the acronym LGBT. It’s so common it is used in the title of a popular tv show by popular streaming service.

Heres why it shouldn’t be. When first used in English in 1513 the Q-slur has always been used to describe something bad. Throughout decades it has evolved to be synonymous with the LGBT in a negative way. Those who were gay or trans were bombarded with it and other forms of hate speech and crimes. To this day bigots use it to harass minorities.

LGBT politics have been coming more and more talked about. People and governments are taking notice, for better or for worse. When such topics are brought up in newscasts, it is always LGBTQ. With its negative origin, why do we use it today? It’s taking back the power that word had and still has. Many LGBT will use the Q-slur in everyday life. To describe themselves and other LGBT individuals they know. There is a problem with that. Not every LBGT person has reclaimed it. Some are still haunted by it. Others still suffer from it. The last thing they would want is that word in their safe space. LGBT spaces and communities are meant to be welcoming to those who need it the most. These safe spaces should make any and all LGBT members feel protected. Its effectiveness diminishes when the Q-slur is written in signs, books, and added to the end of LGBT.

Picture this, a young gay boy who is still in the closet to his family but learns about an LGBT help center. He saves up the change to take the bus as to avoid bringing it up to his conservative family. He wears a hoodie as to not be recognized. He opens the door and walks in, only to look up and see a banner exclaiming “Welcome Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals, Trans and Q-slur people” His hearts sinks. He overhears it in a conversation happening a few feet ahead of him. The memories come flashing back. His father angry that gay marriage was legalized, saying “Those sinning Q-slurs are gonna corrupt this country”. Another time his father, at the dinner table, casually saying he wishes he could just “take a gun to the head of every Q-slur”. This young boy whos had that word said in front of him, so many times in such circumstances, he can’t help but relive those memories. He came there thinking he’d be safe. Find others like him. Learn to help himself. Access resources that could prove useful to him. Now he holding back tears, Wishing he never even went. It’s all too overwhelming for him, he turns back, deciding to walk to his friend’s house. That’s where he told his parents he was going anyway.

It is one thing to refer to yourself as “Q-slur”, it is another to refer to an entire community who not all may accept it as “Q-slur”. It may not be a lot, but a handful of people are hurt by that word and wish others wouldn’t call them it, good or bad. We have not ALL reclaimed it. I myself haven’t reclaimed it. Friends of mine haven’t reclaimed it. We’ve become so uncomfortable with its use we have started avoiding LGBT places and topics altogether. We understand it is about being inclusive, but by saying it, you unintentionally hurt people. Just say LGBT, LGBT is enough. You don’t know who it will affect.