Matt Horwood

Assistant Director of Communications at AKT

Personally, I think ‘queer’ can act as a marker for people who don’t feel that their identities and experiences are seen or represented by the history and acronym of ‘LGBT’.

For me the word also shifts or adds a layer to what we share as a community; while the letters ‘L’, ‘G’, ‘B’ and ’T’ represent sexual orientation and gender identity, I think ‘queer’ unites us in our shared experiences of otherness and marginalisation. That can ignite a sense of togetherness and allyship with one another, which is something that’s often missing within the LGBT community.

As a word that has been and is still used as a violent, anti-LGBT slur, there are obvious sensitivities around the word ‘queer’.

Many people choose not to use it, whether because of its history or otherwise, and no one should feel forced to personally identify as queer as synonymous to ‘gay’, ‘bi’, ‘trans’ or however else they identify.

However, many queer people find solace and power in reclaiming that word for themselves, and for others it’s just what fits with who they are.

That should absolutely be accepted and respected, and as a community that understands how personal identities are, we should know that no one has the right to take them away from other people.

While I don’t identify as queer, I recognise and celebrate my queer partner, friends, colleagues and members of the community in their doing so, and feel completely seen by terms like ‘queer space’ and ‘queer event’.