queerness
Outside the norm
Queerness can mean strangeness or peculiarity, or it can refer to LGBTQ identity and experience: She wrote about her queerness with honesty and humor.
The identity sense now predominates in most contexts.
Sexual and gender minorities
- nonbinaryOutside male-female categories
- transgenderGender differs from assignment
- genderqueerOutside the two-category system
- bisexualityMulti-gender attraction
pansexuality · asexuality · intersex · genderfluid · gender-nonconforming · coming out · pronouns · self-discovery
Refracted light arc
- paradeCeremonial public procession
- celebrationFestive event marking occasion
- liberationRelease from constraint
- StonewallRefuse to answer questions
march · festival · visibility · empowerment · resistance · history · courage · dignity
Continuous range of values
- nonbinaryOutside male-female categories
- genderfluidVariable gender identity
- androgynyCombined sex characteristics
- fluxContinuous change or flow
ambiguity · continuum · shifting · evolving · transition · variability · flexibility · mutable
Intentionally formed kinship network
- safe spaceSupportive, threat-free environment
- solidarityUnity among allies
- allyshipActive support for marginalized
- activismDirect effort for reform
coalition · grassroots · kinship · fellowship · ballroom · drag culture · support groups · found family
Departing from standard practice
- subversiveSeeking to undermine authority
- transgressiveViolating accepted boundaries
- heteronormativityAssumed universal straightness
- defianceOpen resistance to authority
counter-culture · radical · unorthodox · iconoclastic · rebellion · disruption · reimagining
Being made part
- affirmationPositive statement of truth
- validationConfirming truth or accuracy
- recognitionPerceiving something as known
- embraceHold closely in arms
understanding · respect · welcoming · normalization · acknowledgment · legitimacy · human rights · equality
LGBTQIA+
Sexual and gender minorities
- nonbinaryOutside male-female categories
- transgenderGender differs from assignment
- genderqueerOutside the two-category system
bisexuality · pansexuality · asexuality · intersex · genderfluid · gender-nonconforming · coming out · pronouns · self-discovery · sexual orientation
rainbow
Refracted light arc
- paradeCeremonial public procession
- celebrationFestive event marking occasion
- liberationRelease from constraint
Stonewall · march · festival · visibility · empowerment · resistance · history · courage · dignity · defiance
spectrum
Continuous range of values
- nonbinaryOutside male-female categories
- genderfluidVariable gender identity
- androgynyCombined sex characteristics
flux · ambiguity · continuum · shifting · evolving · transition · variability · flexibility · mutable · plurality
chosen family
Intentionally formed kinship network
- safe spaceSupportive, threat-free environment
- solidarityUnity among allies
- allyshipActive support for marginalized
activism · coalition · grassroots · kinship · fellowship · ballroom · drag culture · support groups · found family · mutual aid
unconventional
Departing from standard practice
- subversiveSeeking to undermine authority
- transgressiveViolating accepted boundaries
- heteronormativityAssumed universal straightness
defiance · counter-culture · radical · unorthodox · iconoclastic · rebellion · disruption · reimagining
inclusion
Being made part
- affirmationPositive statement of truth
- validationConfirming truth or accuracy
- recognitionPerceiving something as known
embrace · understanding · respect · welcoming · normalization · acknowledgment · legitimacy · human rights · equality · tolerance
- gendergender, male, female, masculine, feminine
- sexualitysexual orientation, sexual behavior, erotica, sexual identity, bisexual
- queer theaterOscar Wilde, Tennessee Williams, Angels in America, coming out, closet
- queer studiesheteronormativity, intersectionality, sexual orientation, gender identity, non-binary
- Anomaliesanomaly, deviation, aberration, irregularity, oddity
- mysteriousnessenigma, mystique, inscrutability, obscurity, crypticness
queernessnormality
State of being typical
normalcy · ordinariness · usualness · commonality · typicality
queernessheteronormativity
Assumed universal straightness
straightness · heterosexuality · gender conformity · conventionality · conformity
queernessconformity
Adherence to norms
mainstream · orthodoxy · conventionality · belonging · acceptance