this post was submitted on 27 Aug 2025
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Explanation: One of the key scientists in the construction of early codebreaking computers in WW2 was Alan Turing (yes, of Turing Test fame), a gay man. While it was not immediately after WW2, in the 1950s, he inadvertently admitted to a cop that he was homosexual when being interviewed about a burglary at his house (cops, even on the occasions they are useful, are NOT your friends). His key work in defeating the literal fucking Nazis was disregarded in favor of chemically castrating him after he pled guilty to the charge.
It is suspected that this was a major cause of his subsequent suspected suicide by biting into a cyanide-laced apple (though some still hold that the apple incident was an accident).
So WTF does queer mean?! Our man was simply gay, homosexual, we have words for that. That's a sincere question BTW. As an old cis guy, "queer" seems to mean whatever the fuck people want it to mean, seen a few definitions. Somebody help?
I personally use queer as a shorthand for lgbtqia+ because saying that in conversation is a bit unwieldy
Then the math breaks
Q = lgbtQia+
0 = - Q + lgbtQia
0 = -Q(lgbtia - 1)
So lgbtia = 1 or Q = 0
Fair enough. But lgbtqia+?! Can we not see how confusing are arbitrary these words and meanings and acronyms are?
Imma roll with LGBT. Good enough, covers everyone, at least close enough.
Lgbtqia+ isn't any more arbitrary than lgbt if you take the 5 minutes to google what it means.
Honestly, using queer is probably better than lgbt because that includes the Asexuals and Intersex people, which is what the a and i are representing.
The terms are getting more and more complicated because we finally allowed people to not be conformant with the norms. So we are in the process of discovering new identities that shouldn't be unrepresented over the years, which obviously makes talking about this more complex but also allows us to be more accurate.
It's not hard to learn for people who like learning about the world, is only hard for people who think understanding other people is a burden.
My definition is any group that typically was targeted by the slur “queer” in the past would be covered by the queer umbrella. The slur was generally used against minority sexual orientations and gender identities, or in other words any trait or behavior that is not “normal” for heterosexuals or “normal” for man/woman, but isn’t limited to well defined groups. For example, a cisgender heterosexual man who liked to dress in women’s clothing would be considered queer by those who use it as a slur. They are not LGBT, but if they identified as Queer that would make sense to me.