A reclaimed umbrella, community or personal identity relating to sexuality, gender or resistance to fixed categories. It also has a history and continuing use as an anti-LGBTQ+ slur.
Sources and evidence type
Manual claim and limitation notes are shown where an individual source audit is complete. Other evidence-type labels are a publisher aid awaiting source-by-source confirmation.
Stonewall: LGBTQ+ termsCommunity context
Source design
Contextual or community source
What it can support
Terminology, reported practice or community context within the source’s own setting.
Important limitation
Community usage is not universal and does not establish safety, prevalence, clinical benefit or legal permission.
Illustration created using generative AI; not documentary evidence.
In brief
A reclaimed identity with personal value and a harmful history.
Many people value queer as broad, flexible or politically and culturally meaningful; others experience it as hurtful and do not want it applied to them. It is safest to use queer for a person when they use it themselves, and to choose LGBTQ+ or more specific language for mixed groups where preferences are unknown.
Reclamation and variation
Queer was used extensively as abuse and has been reclaimed across generations and movements. Community acceptance and personal comfort differ by age, place and lived experience.
Self-identification does not give automatic permission to apply the word to someone else. Context and relationship matter.
Status
Detailed editorial draft
Publisher
The UK Kink Guide
Reviewed
Structured draft present; individual review date not recorded
Evidence
3 cited sources · types labelled below
Jurisdiction
UK-focused general education
Read the rest: evidence, law, safety and sources
Queer identity
A self-chosen identity or umbrella that may relate to sexuality, gender, community or several together.
Questioning
Exploring or uncertain about sexuality or gender; it is not a synonym for queer.
LGBTQ+
A collective initialism that names several communities without assigning queer to every member.
Slur
Language used to demean or attack; reclamation by some people does not erase harm for others.
Why people use it
Queer can avoid a long list of labels, hold fluidity or uncertainty, or express connection with a broader community. It can describe sexuality, gender or both without requiring one precise taxonomy.
Other people prefer lesbian, gay, bi, trans, ace or another specific term and may reject queer entirely. Specificity and breadth are both valid choices.
Language in services and research
Organisations sometimes use queer within LGBTQ+ as an inclusive initial, but should explain terminology and offer alternatives. Forms should allow self-description rather than force the label.
Researchers must distinguish self-identified queer participants from an externally created catch-all category, since the populations are not identical.
Consent and safety
Respect a request not to use queer, even if others in the same community reclaim it. Repeating it after objection can become harassment or exclusion.
Outing someone's queer identity without permission can create social, employment or safety risks. Disclosure belongs to the person unless a specific lawful necessity applies.
Non-graphic examples
What the umbrella may include
Using queer as a broad personal identity.
Choosing LGBTQ+ for a group whose preferences are unknown.
Avoiding queer for someone who dislikes the term.
Using queer alongside another identity such as bisexual.
Not disclosing another person's identity without consent.
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Questions you could ask a professional
What information would help you understand my question?
What are the realistic options and uncertainties?
How can disability, communication or privacy needs be accommodated?
When should the situation be reviewed again?
These prompts do not replace assessment and do not imply that every reader needs professional care.
Continue learning
Take the next step from definition to context.
Continue with independent guidance connecting queer to evidence, consent, safety, uncertainty and practical decisions.
The UK Kink GuideEvidence-led glossary