Towards a TS dictionary --- the letter Qq+

 BOLD=cross reference, see item when appropriate letter posted

Qa'cikicheca

Qa'cikicheca (=similar to a man) are assigned-female shamans among the reindeer-herding Chukchi in the very far east of Siberia, who took a young woman as wife with social approval.

Quariwarmi

Assigned-male shamans in female dress in the pre-colonial Inca civilisation who mediated between the symmetrically dualistic spheres of Andean cosmology and daily life. 

Queen. Quean

Both words are descended from Proto-Germanic *kwenon or similar, "wife, woman"; which in turn is descended from Proto-Indo-European *gwen- "woman".  In addition to meaning a woman, especially a robust or spirited one, they came to mean:

a)     A ruling woman or consort of a king

b)    A prostitute, an impudent or disreputable woman

c)     An effeminate gay man

d)    A rather camp rock group

e)     A female impersonator

f)     A trans woman

The Queen, 1968

A film about the Miss All-American Camp Beauty Pageant final, which went on to be a sensation at the Cannes International Film Festival, and made a star of Rachel Harlow.

Queens Liberation Front (QLF)

The major New York social and activist group for trans persons in the 1970s.  It was founded in 1970 by Barbara De Lamere (using her stage name of Bunny Eisenhower – she was a a member of the Ridiculous Theatrical Company), Lee Brewster (who ran Lee’s Mardi Gras transvestite boutique), Bebe Scarpinato (a teacher), Vicky West (artist) and Chris Moore (performer).   They campaigned and hired lawyers to de-criminalise cross-dressing in New York, which was achieved in 1971. Previously, under city ordinances a bar or club could be closed and patrons arrested, simply because a single person, deemed to be cross-dressed, was present.  Furthermore the words "homosexuals, lesbians, or persons pretending to be ..." were also struck, thus decriminalising gay clubs and parties. In addition, the still extant 1965 Anti-Mask: New York Penal Law criminalising "the wearing of mask or disguises by three or more persons in a public place" was found inapplicable to those in drag.  The QLF publication was Drag, a magazine of Transvestism.

Queer

Possibly from the Indo-European twerkw -> Latin torquere (to twist) and early English cwer (crooked, not straight). 

a)     16^th century: strange or illegitimate, and in Scottish as an adjectival form of ‘query’

b)    19^th century: odd.  “It was a queer sensation having a woman in the pew beside me”.

c)     Late 19^th century: contrary to one’s wish

d)    Early 20^th century: sick or ill.  Until the 1960s the following was a perfectly innocent remark with no suggestion of sexuality: “Yesterday I felt quite queer, but after a good night’s sleep, today I am completely gay”

e)     Mid 20^th century: a pejorative and offensive term for gay or trans people.

f)     Late 20^th century: gay and lesbian activists reclaimed the term as an empowering self-designation.

g)    Any person whose sexual orientation or gender identity is other than that of the heterosexual mainstream and/or the gender binary.

h)    GLBT persons who are not Homonormative.

While many, perhaps older, persons still refuse the term Queer as they were subjected to it as a painful slur, others appreciate it as term of defiance, and also as an inclusive term whereby one need not specify oneself as gay, bi, trans, nonbinary or whatever.

It is particularly useful in distinguishing modern queer persons from Heteronormative Sodomists.

Queer as Folk; Nowt so Queer as Folk

An old English expression, usually spoken in a mock-Yorkshire accent, indicating how strange other people are—thus, until recently not a sex or gender term at all.  A longer version is: “th’whole world’s queer ‘cept for me and thee, and oft I wonder about thee”.

In 1999 Russell T Davis produced a television series on Britain’s Channel 4 about life in Manchester’s gay village.  He wanted to call it ‘Queer as Fuck’ but settled for the expression “Queer as Folk”. The title was retained for the US remake, set in Pittsburgh, but actually filmed in Toronto’s gay village, despite most US audiences probably not understanding the allusion.

Queerbaiting

A film or television program hints that a character is gay or trans but does not follow through, because keeping its Straight audience is more important.  See Queer Coding.

Queer by Choice

A web site for gay and trans person who are not at all satisfied by the supposed Biologistic explanations of being gay or trans.  http://www.queerbychoice.com.  See Choice.

Queer Coding

Gay or Trans characters in a film or television program when such was illegal or forbidden by the studio bosses.   Gay characters such as Disney villains or minor characters in Hitchcock films would signal by dress, comportment or facial expression such that only a minority of viewers caught on.  See Queerbaiting.

Queer Heterosexuality

Heterosexuals who are non-traditional in their gender expressions, including masculine women and feminine men, and are Queer positive in their opinions.   Many actual Queer people contest this usage maintaining that it is Appropriation.

Queer Music Heritage

An archive compiled by JD Doyle of queer musicians and their music.  Includes both drag performers and trans musicians, as well as gay and lesbian musicians.  www.queermusicheritage.com.

Queer Nation

An LGBTQ direct-action organization founded in 1990 in New York in reaction to the escalation of anti-gay violence on the streets and prejudice in the arts and media. The group was known for its confrontational tactics, its slogans, and the practice of outing.  In 1993 Trangender Nation was founded after dissatisfaction re the groups attitude to trans issues.

Queerphobia

Fear and hatred of all persons whose sex and/or gender is not the standard Cis Heterosexuality. 

Queer Street

Not a gender term at all.  An old expression for money troubles or even bankruptcy.  ‘Queer’ implies contrary to one’s wish.

In 19^th century boxing the term was also used for a boxed who was ‘out on his feet’ – that is stunned but still standing and unable to defend himself.

Some modern writers use 'queer street', ironically or otherwise, for a person's encounter with queer culture.

Queer Theory

An academic discipline that began in the 1980s influenced by philosopher Michel Foucault.  Generally they study Gender and sexuality practices other than Cis Heterosexuality as social and cultural phenomena.

Queer, Transgender and Intersex People of Colour (QTIPOC)

An Umbrella term that puts transgender and intersex in focus, rather than gay and lesbian.

Questioning

A person, probably nominally straight, who is exploring and perhaps trying out different labels.

Quim (noun)

Female genitalia, the vulva.  More used in the 19^th century by speakers wanting to be naughty.   Connected to ‘queem’ a term used in carpentry for an exact fit.  See also the cognate term Queen.

Quim (verb)

What a woman does during heterosexual genital sex.  (The word ‘fuck’ is more correctly used only for what the man does).   In neither standard English vocabulary of literature and science, nor the vernacular vocabulary of uncensored speech, are there other terms for this, except for Swive.