TIL that there's a pride flag to represent queerness itself.
"Queer is an identity in and of itself that more and more people are choosing to identify with. It is a sort of label for those who don’t want to put themselves in a box. Often considered a movement, queer people are those who fall outside of and/or renounce the cultural norms around sexuality, gender identity, and/or gender expression.
The word queer can mean different things to different people, but the most accepted definition is someone who is not cishet or someone with variant experiences with orientation, gender, and/or sex."
It’s both in a way. Most people I’ve known who refer to themselves as queer feel that they either belong to multiple other categories, or don’t feel that any other label describes their sexual or gender experiences
Yeah, it’s both an overarching label for the LGBTQIA+ community at large and also a label that some people do identify personally with, as they may feel that no others really fit but they still are part of the community.
My wife, for example. I’m a trans girl, we married when I was still deeply buried in the closet. She’s ostensibly cishet - she’s more attracted to masculinity, she wouldn’t consider herself a lesbian or even bi, but nonetheless she’s happy married to another woman.
She’s doesn’t like saying she’s straight anymore - she says it doesn’t capture our relationship. She sees me for the woman I am, this isn’t a situation of her denying my gender, and she says it doesn’t feel like a straight relationship anymore. So if she has to pick a label she just calls herself queer and that’s good enough.
I understand your intent, but I reckon kids know really early on. My daughter has been boy crazy since 5, so I never bothered with “or a girlfriend” type comments. But we do instill in her regularly that love is love and partners come in all types.
As a late 20s asexual gay person, I was in complete denial until my early 20s about my asexuality and until my mid 20s about being gay. Not because my parents weren’t accepting, but because society is heteronormative. Always good to reinforce an open, positive attitude!