J.B. Harter
Seated Figure, 1975
Grease pencil on tracing paper, 15.5" x 11.5"

Reflections on Queer

When I first moved to New York City in April 1991, one of the first places I went was the Lesbian and Gay Community Services Center on 13th Street. I wanted to find out all that was happening with gay life in my new home. When I entered the building I heard shouting and yelling. There was a meeting going on in the main assembly hall by the now-defunct Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights (CLGR) entitled "Do you like to be called Queer?" The early nineties saw the advent of a new organization called "Queer Nation," devoted to using direct action techniques to advance our community's political agenda. Part of their philosophy was to "reclaim" the use of the word Queer, so long used as a disparaging term, for use as a symbol of pride. This philosophy was deeply opposed by many, especially older members of the community who had borne the brunt of the hurt that this word has inflicted. Similar debates had arisen about the use of "gay" versus "homosexual," whether female homosexuals should use the term "lesbian" as opposed to "gay woman," etc. But this was the first time that I could be a participant in the discussion. I entered that room and thus began my history of political involvement in New York.

Flash forward to 2005. Queer Nation is now long gone. In fact, I attended a Queer Nation reunion a few years back. The word "Queer" has reached a large degree of acceptability, however begrudgingly. Some prefer it as an easy catch-all term for our ever lengthening list of sexual minorities: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex, Questing, Two-Spirit, etc., or LGBTIQTS for short. Queer seems far simpler.

— Mark Schulte