First of all, I like to respond to people with names, so please
     sign your posts.

     Second, I had heard the term "queer" used by gays to describe
     other gays, and had even heard of queer theory, and certainly had
     plenty of exposure to ACT UP and their offshoots. Therefore, I
     had thought that the word was a kind of outlaw affectionate term
     that gay folks might use with eachother, kind of like the "n"
     word (though that is certainly a controversial issue in the
     African American community, with some folks really having a
     problem with the word in any context, feeling that it conveys a
     sense of self-hatred, which also extends the "n-word" analogy
     from my point of view.)

     I thought that the responses to my question, up until this point,
     were surprisingly serious and insightful, given the kind of
     flippant tone of my original post. Particularly the idea of
     appropriating a negative term as a way of empowering a group that
     suffers discrimination and misunderstanding (again an analogy to
     the "n" word), struck me as thoughtful and compelling.

     And finally, though I am surely "queer" in some sense of the
     term, and sometimes "gay" as well, any other application of these
     terms to myself is none of anyone's business.

     Eric Siegel
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