She quickly explained
This is in the Guardian?? Oooooh she gonna be in TRUBble.
I have some inspiring news for heterosexuals who may be struggling with their lifestyle choices: Dannii Minogue has bravely come out as straight.
She has a long-term boyfriend, see, but she was doing a presser and was asked if she fancies women.
Minogue replied: “You girls are hot. You know it. I love it. I’m here for it. Is that an answer?” Not really, to be honest. Still, she also helpfully clarified that she identifies “as queer in a weird way”.
Whoops, the Australian singer obviously thought, when she looked at the papers the next day and saw a million headlines along the lines of “Dannii Minogue ‘fights back tears’ as she announces she identifies as queer”. She quickly explained that she didn’t mean queer queer, she meant queer as in straight but spicy.
Which in turn means…well…nothing.
It’s probably fair to say that Minogue’s awkward expression of LGBTQ+ allyship was overblown by the media. But you know what? It’s also fair to think that if someone says they’re queer, that means they’re not a zero on the Kinsey scale.
Why is it fair? Because that’s one of the meanings of the word right now, hence the Q in LGBTQ.
In recent years the word queer, always an amorphous term, has become essentially meaningless. Can Straight People Be Queer? Vice asked in a 2016 article, capturing the general vibe. The answer to that seems to be: “Yes, if they’ve done their homework.” Last month, for example, Glee star Darren Criss, who is straight but played a character in a gay relationship on the show, said he’s “culturally queer”. He went on to elaborate: “The things in my life that I have tried to emulate, learn from and be inspired by are 100% queer as fuck.” So for the avoidance of future Minogue-like embarrassments, let’s all agree on this new definition, shall we? Queer now means a heterosexual who has read Oscar Wilde.
Good punchline! And to think it’s in the Graun of all places…is the giant ship beginning to turn?
With that definition, I guess I’m queer! Who knew it was so easy to join the cool kids?
@iknlast Me too! I absolute fell in love with OW when I was seventeen.
I recall a panellist on Australia’s largest political panel show saying she “identified as queer”, because her boyfriend was bisexual. So, apparently, queerness can be transmitted via heterosexual sex.
I don’t go to parties much these days – one a year maybe – but I remember the days when you would use “and what do you do?” as a conversation opener. Do people say “and what do you identify as” in the same way?
Oh dear, KBP! I really hope that doesn’t happen! Fortunately, I never go to parties; so it’s very unlikely that anyone will ask me that question outright. However, the idea has been appearing on official hospital forms, so I spend a fair bit of time correcting them before I can answer the questions to which the hospital needs the answer. Crossing out ‘gender’ and writing ‘sex’; amending ‘what was your sex assigned at birth?’ to ‘
what was yoursexassignedat birth’ doesn’t change; that kind of thing.I’m a masculine-looking woman wearing clothes made for men, whilst using a heavy duty wheelchair which I’ve covered with crochet (to protect the material from the cats, I put a waterproof car seat cover on it; that looks and feels horrid, hence the crochet). I must either look really intimidating, which is why I’m not challenged, or perhaps they think that I’m ‘queer’ and it would be impolite.
Can we please drop ‘gender’ outside grammar, ‘queer’ as both a slur and a badge of honour, ‘identify as’ altogether, and get back to describing people’s personalities? Thanks.
tigger, it may not be you looking intimidating. I’m not particularly masculine, my clothes are sort of masculine, and I have an ambiguous name. I’m not particularly intimidating. I’ve never been challenged, either. I actually think most doctors don’t care, they’re just giving trans what they want to avoid trouble. Unfortunately, a lot of doctors (at least in the US) are going to computerized check in where it is impossible to cross out the ridiculous formulation, and I suspect they are using standardized software that words it that way.
Thank you, iknklast. I’m glad that we still have paper forms, then. Perhaps I need to write to the hospital administrator and point out that it is unfair to inflict on ordinary people the language of an anti-reality religion followed by a very tiny minority, that most people won’t understand the questions, and most of those of us who do understand will find them highly offensive and worrying. A hospital which doesn’t know, or refuses to admit, that humans can’t change sex is not a safe place for sick and injured people.