That’s really interesting. I definitely see the “genderqueer” thing happening among younger people in my city (Salt Lake) but I didn’t know there was a name for the movement. In some ways it’s yet another effort at labeling in order to make self and others more comfortable…it’s that innate need to categorize that will never go away, the longing for identity and tribe-finding.
(BTW the last paragraph of the article made me think of the head-shaving scene in Empress.)
invertedreptile
March 22, 2006 at 4:43 am
pretty good, except for some iffy pronoun usage here and there. and that sure summarizes a lot of the people in my life…
i’m always torn between excitment and annoyance at genderfuck’s trendyness (in the queer community anyway).
tryslora
March 22, 2006 at 4:50 am
I know genderqueer people of all ages. I’m waiting for the day when our language has pronouns so I’m not left using only a name to talk about a person I know. Which is frustrating, because language is all about labels, and there are no real labels. And in the end, the label doesn’t really matter, because it’s what’s in the heart.
I was at a writing thing the other day where a lot of the talk *was* about labels. How the “old ways” made people choose a label and “bi” was looked down on (in much the same way the article seems to say people look askance at the new labels). There was also much discussion about how genderqueer means so many different things.
What I like is seeing the world noticing and not saying terrible things for once. Somedays I’m glad the world’s a different place than it was when I was a teen.
BTW, hi… relatively new here. Read Empress, loved it, can’t wait for your next book!
capn_jil
March 22, 2006 at 4:51 am
Oh man, I can’t keep up with the trends I ostensibly represent. It seems like especially in the queer world people really like to bust out the labels and the deconstruction of said labels. For one reason and another I’ve been kind of edging away from that planet ‘cos I’m’ tired of defining myself in opposition to anything. Fuck that. People want to get informed, they can stop jerking off the last twenty years of history and go back and see the spectrum of sexual behaviors humans have exhibited.
As for the last paragraph, I giggle. I contemplate growing out my hair again so I can look like a grody headbanger, but then I’ll be girling it. Oh, ’tis a hard life and the pleasures few and far between…
nevikmoore
March 22, 2006 at 6:14 am
Ah, thanks for posting this. I have had some interesting discussions with some classmates about the appropriateness of “queer” as an inclusive term and not, as in the past, a term of derision or intolerance. I’ll post it to the discussion boards of my class web site.
Oh, and, nice userpic, duude. Tiny’s, I presume?
moriath
March 22, 2006 at 6:48 am
I guess I’ve known several genderqueer people, but no one has ever had a term for it, or at least none of them used it for themselves. I find it really interesting that people keep saying that my generation is eschewing labels and refusing to identify as gay/straight/whatever…and then someone, somewhere, comes up with another label to apply to everyone who’s allegedly been trying to avoid one.
I don’t necessarily like the labels, but the idea of going around without some way to phrase your identity also seems very scary to me. And I do have a tendency to fight viciously if someone tries to pin me into a group that I *know* I don’t belong to.
It’s all very intriguing… And I concur with the final paragraphs echoing Empress :-)
madcathatter
March 22, 2006 at 9:50 am
First off, I suppose I’ll introduce myself. I’m Kaila! I friended you a while back, being a fan of Empress.
I like the idea of erasing the need to label everything about yourself. I labeled myself gay, which… is accurate, seeing as I’ve only been attracted to other females thus far. Though, it seems like I shouldn’t have to. I’m not fond of the phrase bisexual, because of the stereotype it has, and I’m not bisexual… It’s a confusing thing. I like females, but I like feeling like if I ever were to fall for a male, I wouldn’t have to back-peddle and say “Oh no, not gay… sorry, I was wrong.” At any rate, I think the whole concept of genderqueer is an excellent one.
I rambled, and I’m sure I didn’t make much sense. Psh, what’s new.
thisisnotanlj
March 23, 2006 at 2:24 am
hi back — and thanks!
thisisnotanlj
March 23, 2006 at 2:25 am
hi kaila — welcome! you made lots of sense.
babymowgli
March 23, 2006 at 5:22 am
I don’t mind the genderqueer thing, but the words “boi” and “grrl” annoy me. It’s like “phat;” it just drives me nuts.
babymowgli
March 23, 2006 at 5:25 am
Some psychologist (I think Kinsey) had a rating scale that was like 1 is straight and 10 is gay, but he never gave anyone a 1 or a 10. So the theory is even if you’re mostly straight or mostly gay, everyone’s at least a tiny bit bi.
johnny_dingle
March 23, 2006 at 9:31 am
Sara Ryan has an lj!
WHOA
First off, huge fan here… of both your Empress of the World and another author that you may know named Julie Anne Peters. My mom [!!!] also loved Empress, for the record. I came out to her a few months ago, and your book definitely helped her understand… thanks so much!
* * *
What an enlightening article.
I had heard the word ‘genderqueer’ and ‘genderfuck’ before, but I never really knew what it meant. This is both good to know and eye-opening. Thank you again.
__sara
[yes, that’s my name too] ;)
capn_jil
March 23, 2006 at 2:37 pm
All kinds of yes. Badly chosen neologisms are lame.
erisian_fields
March 23, 2006 at 5:13 pm
It seems that both of my daughters are somewhere on the spectrum other than straight and some of their friends definitely fall into the genderqueer category. They all seem happy with their sexuality and the vaarious expressions thereof and as long as they’re being responsible (no STDs and no reproducing allowed) as well as safe, sane and consensual, I’m happy for them.
You love who you love. The rest is just packaging.
sarazarr
March 22, 2006 at 4:33 amThat’s really interesting. I definitely see the “genderqueer” thing happening among younger people in my city (Salt Lake) but I didn’t know there was a name for the movement. In some ways it’s yet another effort at labeling in order to make self and others more comfortable…it’s that innate need to categorize that will never go away, the longing for identity and tribe-finding.
(BTW the last paragraph of the article made me think of the head-shaving scene in Empress.)
invertedreptile
March 22, 2006 at 4:43 ampretty good, except for some iffy pronoun usage here and there. and that sure summarizes a lot of the people in my life…
i’m always torn between excitment and annoyance at genderfuck’s trendyness (in the queer community anyway).
tryslora
March 22, 2006 at 4:50 amI know genderqueer people of all ages. I’m waiting for the day when our language has pronouns so I’m not left using only a name to talk about a person I know. Which is frustrating, because language is all about labels, and there are no real labels. And in the end, the label doesn’t really matter, because it’s what’s in the heart.
I was at a writing thing the other day where a lot of the talk *was* about labels. How the “old ways” made people choose a label and “bi” was looked down on (in much the same way the article seems to say people look askance at the new labels). There was also much discussion about how genderqueer means so many different things.
What I like is seeing the world noticing and not saying terrible things for once. Somedays I’m glad the world’s a different place than it was when I was a teen.
BTW, hi… relatively new here. Read Empress, loved it, can’t wait for your next book!
capn_jil
March 22, 2006 at 4:51 amOh man, I can’t keep up with the trends I ostensibly represent. It seems like especially in the queer world people really like to bust out the labels and the deconstruction of said labels. For one reason and another I’ve been kind of edging away from that planet ‘cos I’m’ tired of defining myself in opposition to anything. Fuck that. People want to get informed, they can stop jerking off the last twenty years of history and go back and see the spectrum of sexual behaviors humans have exhibited.
As for the last paragraph, I giggle. I contemplate growing out my hair again so I can look like a grody headbanger, but then I’ll be girling it. Oh, ’tis a hard life and the pleasures few and far between…
nevikmoore
March 22, 2006 at 6:14 amAh, thanks for posting this. I have had some interesting discussions with some classmates about the appropriateness of “queer” as an inclusive term and not, as in the past, a term of derision or intolerance. I’ll post it to the discussion boards of my class web site.
Oh, and, nice userpic, duude. Tiny’s, I presume?
moriath
March 22, 2006 at 6:48 amI guess I’ve known several genderqueer people, but no one has ever had a term for it, or at least none of them used it for themselves. I find it really interesting that people keep saying that my generation is eschewing labels and refusing to identify as gay/straight/whatever…and then someone, somewhere, comes up with another label to apply to everyone who’s allegedly been trying to avoid one.
I don’t necessarily like the labels, but the idea of going around without some way to phrase your identity also seems very scary to me. And I do have a tendency to fight viciously if someone tries to pin me into a group that I *know* I don’t belong to.
It’s all very intriguing… And I concur with the final paragraphs echoing Empress :-)
madcathatter
March 22, 2006 at 9:50 amFirst off, I suppose I’ll introduce myself. I’m Kaila! I friended you a while back, being a fan of Empress.
I like the idea of erasing the need to label everything about yourself. I labeled myself gay, which… is accurate, seeing as I’ve only been attracted to other females thus far. Though, it seems like I shouldn’t have to. I’m not fond of the phrase bisexual, because of the stereotype it has, and I’m not bisexual… It’s a confusing thing. I like females, but I like feeling like if I ever were to fall for a male, I wouldn’t have to back-peddle and say “Oh no, not gay… sorry, I was wrong.” At any rate, I think the whole concept of genderqueer is an excellent one.
I rambled, and I’m sure I didn’t make much sense. Psh, what’s new.
thisisnotanlj
March 23, 2006 at 2:24 amhi back — and thanks!
thisisnotanlj
March 23, 2006 at 2:25 amhi kaila — welcome! you made lots of sense.
babymowgli
March 23, 2006 at 5:22 amI don’t mind the genderqueer thing, but the words “boi” and “grrl” annoy me. It’s like “phat;” it just drives me nuts.
babymowgli
March 23, 2006 at 5:25 amSome psychologist (I think Kinsey) had a rating scale that was like 1 is straight and 10 is gay, but he never gave anyone a 1 or a 10. So the theory is even if you’re mostly straight or mostly gay, everyone’s at least a tiny bit bi.
johnny_dingle
March 23, 2006 at 9:31 amSara Ryan has an lj!
WHOA
First off, huge fan here… of both your Empress of the World and another author that you may know named Julie Anne Peters. My mom [!!!] also loved Empress, for the record. I came out to her a few months ago, and your book definitely helped her understand… thanks so much!
* * *
What an enlightening article.
I had heard the word ‘genderqueer’ and ‘genderfuck’ before, but I never really knew what it meant. This is both good to know and eye-opening. Thank you again.
__sara
[yes, that’s my name too] ;)
capn_jil
March 23, 2006 at 2:37 pmAll kinds of yes. Badly chosen neologisms are lame.
erisian_fields
March 23, 2006 at 5:13 pmIt seems that both of my daughters are somewhere on the spectrum other than straight and some of their friends definitely fall into the genderqueer category. They all seem happy with their sexuality and the vaarious expressions thereof and as long as they’re being responsible (no STDs and no reproducing allowed) as well as safe, sane and consensual, I’m happy for them.
You love who you love. The rest is just packaging.