When I told one of my closest friends that I'd be starting a blog called Closet Queer, he had to stifle a giggle.
"Why," he asked, "did you ever choose such a name?"
This guy wasn't gay, but he did have a point. The LGBT community is split on the use of this word.
Its history shows that it was used as a slur against homosexuals of both genders. The denotative meaning of "strange", connotes a movement that is against the norm or worse: abnormal. Thus some activists would denounce the use of such a word and regard it as a step backward for gay rights.
Other activists would however claim that the genderless term "queer" is an appropriate word to unite all homosexuals of varying degrees under a single banner.
I am not an activitst. I am a gay man in the closet. I do not fancy myself a queen, not that I doubt that maybe I could be one, but at the moment, I'm just a guy who likes guys.
I do not really belong to the mainstream of society. While I function, day in and day out, as a regular guy I still constantly find myself struggling with my sexuality. Struggling because I can't seem to meet the right guy.
It should be as simple as going out to a bar, but the situation is far more complicated than that. With my job, I can't be caught visiting a gay bar or something like that.
On the other hand, I do not belong to gay subculturem, not really at least. Let me clarify my statement, I do not belong to the popular gay subculture.
I'm a true anomaly. A true queer in that sense.
Hence, I'm Closet Queer.
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