Each letter speaks to a specific sexual orientation or identification. Lesbian. Gay. Bisexual. Transgender.
“Q” means “Queer”.
Now I myself am “Queer” in the sense of being unusual or eccentric but I have no exotic fantasies of erotic activity beyond that required to satisfy the desires of my partner.
“Are you through yet?”
I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’m a good sport and I’m willing to put special effort into maintaining a solid relationship but it doesn’t take much to make me happy. Not booting my ass out on the street because of my insanity goes a long, long way.
“Q” on the other hand, in this particular context, is a slur on par with the “N”.
And I’ll use the N Word, for historic accuracy or for ironic, satirical, or shock value. I’m certainly not in favor of banishing Huckleberry Finn, perhaps the most forceful condemnation of slavery, racism, and bigotry in Literature, from classrooms or even bowdlerizing it.
This is who we were and some of us still are.
On the other hand it doesn’t appear casually and without purpose.
The “Q” I consider superfluous. Were I a feminist lesbian I might imagine some aggrievement that the perfectly serviceable and non-Gendered “Gay” has been hijacked and appropriated but, whatever. Should we at some point decide distinguishing between those who have transformed or transcended their sexual identity be further marginalized and divided by the objects of their attraction, so be it.
What really bugs me is I had to look up “cis” just as I was getting used to “‘tro”.