Colorado College defends use of "queer" on application

Job hunting online recently from his home in Pennsylvania, John Kichi received something of a shock when he came upon an opening at Colorado College. An optional question seeking gender information listed five choices:

Not disclosed.
Male.
Female.
Transgender.
And the fifth — Queer.

Colorado College defends use of "queer" on application

Needless to say there has been a lot of outrage over the word "Queer" being found on a job application.
So the problem is this word a derogatory or a Semantic shift by the LGBT community?


From wiki

Origin

Since its emergence in the English language in the 16th century (related to the German quer, meaning "across, at right angle, diagonally or transverse"), queer has generally meant "strange", "unusual", or "out of alignment". It might refer to something suspicious or "not quite right", or to a person with mild derangement or who exhibits socially inappropriate behaviour.

The story itself is rather bland something I would have just glanced over...
However reader comments are rather colorful

One poster wrote

Maybe Colorado College can assist OTHERS in reclaiming words to "describe themselves".

I'm sure people would be more than pleased to see the school use "Dark*e", "Be*ner", "W*p", "K*ke" , "M*ck', "P*lack", and "R*ssky" .

So again a single word has everyone in an uproar...
Is "Queer" a PC term to use to define a sexual orientation or an outdated Victorian era slur?
I will admit than in this 21st century we do need more than just "Male and Female" gender boxes but is "Queer a gender or a preference?

As for me I'm straight but still find the use of the word 'Queer' offensive when used to describe a person. especially when I command such a large and colorful collection of derogatoriness to describe a persons idiotic behavior

reply to post by HardCorps


You know, I can remember when the Gay and Lesbian movement really took off back in the 70s. At the time their motto was "We're here, we're queer....get used to it!" It simply amazes me how much people get hung up on what is considered to be politically correct anymore- what is PC this week will more than likely be considered outre' by next week. It's stupid!

I have a male friend who is quite forcefully and proudly 'queer' so I think this may be a matter of the employer also being either other-than-'normal' themselves, or rather highly avantgarde in their thinking.

I can pretty much guarantee they're not run of the mill teapartiers.

Since I'm still seething over a local Catholic hospital including in their job application a phrase that wants you to attest to, well here, I'll quote it:

Additional Responsibilities:
Demonstrates a commitment to service, organization values and professionalism through appropriate conduct and demeanor at all times.
Adheres to and exhibits our core values:
Reverence: Having a profound spirit of awe and respect for all creation, shaping relationships to self, to one another and to God and acknowledging that we hold in trust all that has been given to us.
Integrity: Moral wholeness, soundness, uprightness, honesty and sincerity as a basis of trustworthiness.
Compassion: Feeling with others, being one with others in their sorrows and joys, rooted in the sense of solidarity as members of the human community.

Now, as an atheist, I bristle at this. Maybe it's just me but I think it's highly inappropriate and may be un-Constitutional, even though it's a bunch of pretty words and thoughts put together. If the word 'God' were instead 'nature' I'd have no problem with it. Dragging the Bible into the field of health care, especially highly technically based health care, makes me worry that the practitioners may have spent too much time in Bible Class and not enough time in Science Class. How am I supposed to trust caretakers and coworkers who have a relationship with an imaginary deity? From my point of view, they're delusional or at least deluded (and to get back to the OP) quite possibly highly judgmental of people not enough like themselves...

reply to post by signalfire


I have two inspirational quotes that might help you keep things in there proper perspective.
Both quotes come from the late George Carlin...

"Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups."

and one of my favs

"The real reason that we can't have the Ten Commandments in a courthouse: You cannot post 'Thou shalt not steal,' 'Thou shalt not commit adultery,' and 'Thou shalt not lie' in a building full of lawyers, judges, and politicians. It creates a hostile work environment."

reply to post by littled16


Point one - love your avatar. It's...attractive.

Point two - If I call you a bitch, would that offend you? Same principle.

The PC crowd is absolutely ridiculous. You can't refer to a mentally challenged individual by their technical name on this site, without getting an extreme T & C violation.

I can understand using these words in purely derogatory ways, but when they're appropriately used, give me a friggin' break!

reply to post by littled16


Here in Colorado we have an over abundance of super sensitive PC types...
nothing wrong with that per say but when they lack direction and focus on what issues to embrace, they kind of go overboard...
this collage wants to seem open and understanding to everyone and yet rather than pick up a Thesaurus and find a better word... these members of higher education pick the one word that is controversial to both sides???

TO bad Carlen died, he'd have a field day over this one.

reply to post by webedoomed


Haha. I used the word "retarded" recently and got called out over it. I explained the definition and that I was using the word according to the definition. I told them if they didn't like it, they needed to take it up with Webster and get the word banned. Besides, there's a difference between using a word properly and using it to convey a sense of disgust or contempt for an idea. Slang is often associated with a lackadaisical effort to convey an emotion that expresses less than sophisticated cognitive processes, which is why it is often offensive...because it's the same as pounding someone in the shoulder instead of shaking their hand. While it may be intended to convey one meaning, it can easily be construed as something else. And at that point, it becomes a matter of courtesy.

AfterInfinity
reply to post by littled16

 

Point one - love your avatar. It's...attractive.

Point two - If I call you a bitch, would that offend you? Same principle.

edit on 8-11-2013 by AfterInfinity because: (no reason given)

Darlin' you always give me a giggle!
I'm not offended by being called a bitch.....
However if one were to start bandying around the "C" word I can't guarantee your safety!

signalfire
Since I'm still seething over a local Catholic hospital including in their job application a phrase that wants you to attest to, well here, I'll quote it:

Now, as an atheist, I bristle at this. Maybe it's just me but I think it's highly inappropriate and may be un-Constitutional, even though it's a bunch of pretty words and thoughts put together.

What, are you kidding?

It's a CATHOLIC hospital! It's not a secular hospital, it's a hospital established, financed and run by a church. If you don't like their policies, then go find another hospital to work at or be healed at. Here's a clue to help you out -- whenever you see "Saint" or "St." in front of the name of a hospital, school or charity, it's a religious organization.

Hospitals were an invention of the Catholic church in the Fourth Century, many still exist today, and it's ludicrous to say that they should be banned from expecting certain behaviour from their employees.

reply to post by HardCorps


There is no excuse. I checked the Oxford English Dictionary, reviewed here on ATS and NO way is it polite to use the word "queer."

reply to post by HardCorps


since when is " QUEER " A gender identifier ?

I am pretty sure the GLBT's just like the anttention this stuff gets them.

When are these people going to get that nobody cares who or what
you have sex with, it is nobody's business but their own? Are they going
to ever stop announcing themselves when ever they feel offended.

soficrow
reply to post by HardCorps

 

There is no excuse. I checked the Oxford English Dictionary, reviewed here on ATS and NO way is it polite to use the word "queer."

Not all words are meant to be polite. It doesn'mean that a group can claim
the word as spacifically rude to only them.

Man-up!!... now lets see the reaction that gets.

reply to post by MALBOSIA

It doesn'mean that a group can claim the word as spacifically rude to only them.

Excuse me?

An optional question seeking gender information listed five choices:

Not disclosed.
Male.
Female.
Transgender.
And the fifth — Queer.

reply to post by littled16


So, since black people call each other "'n-word'" we can then place that on a job application?

ignorant_ape
reply to post by HardCorps

 

since when is " QUEER " A gender identifier ?

Hit the nail on the head, this implies that homosexuals are not male or female. That is what is offensive about it.

tigershark1988

ignorant_ape
reply to post by HardCorps

 

since when is " QUEER " A gender identifier ?

Hit the nail on the head, this implies that homosexuals are not male or female. That is what is offensive about it.

We're here, we're either male or female, get used to it.

HandyDandy
reply to post by littled16

 

So, since black people call each other "'n-word'" we can then place that on a job application?

Are you being intentionally obtuse? I don't give a rat's behind what a company lists on their applications. If i am offended by such I can take myself elsewhere- it's that simple really.

littled16

HandyDandy
reply to post by littled16

 

So, since black people call each other "'n-word'" we can then place that on a job application?

Are you being intentionally obtuse? I don't give a rat's behind what a company lists on their applications. If i am offended by such I can take myself elsewhere- it's that simple really.

Unless they use the "C" word. Right?

littled16
However if one were to start bandying around the "C" word I can't guarantee your safety!