DEFINITIONS

Throughout this paper I will be using a variety of terms to describe and label the queer community. The definitions below have been taken from the Human Rights Campaign’s Glossary of Terms. Along with these definitions I have included my personal ideas surrounding these terms and have provided some examples of when they will be used throughout this essay. This is a short list and only includes terms that are vital to understanding the contents of this thesis. Longer more inclusive lists can be found on the websites of queer organizations like the HRC.

QUEER - A term people often use to express fluid identities and orientations. Often used interchangeably with "LGBTQ."

I have decided to use queer as the main umbrella term for this essay because of it’s ability to include a broad range of identities without listing them all individually. Queer is a term that younger generations have become very comfortable using, but most elders within the LGBTQ+ community are conflicted about using it because of its historically negative connotation. None of the narrators in this project would use queer to identify their sexuality, though some may say they are a part of the “queer community.” Therefore, I will be using queer when talking more abstractly about spaces or communities, but use individual identities when talking about specific narrators or groups those narrators were a part of. I will also at times use queer to describe my own sexual identity interchangeably with gay and lesbian. 

GAY - A person who is emotionally, romantically or sexually attracted to people who identify as the same gender.

I will mostly be using this term to refer to anyone who identifies as a cis-male, gender queer, or non-binary and is attracted to others who identify in a similar way.  This term will also be used in reference to the bar scene. Historically, most bars which had queer clientele were called “gay bars” regardless of the sexuality or gender identity of the patrons. In this essay, I will stay true to that tradition and refer to any bar that is a queer space as a “gay bar.”

LGBTQ - An acronym for “lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer.”

I will use a variation on this acronym, LGBTQ+, also as an umbrella term interchangeable with queer. The (+) stands for the many sexualities and gender identities not listed within the acronym. I will mostly use it when talking about the “LGBTQ+ community or communities” to emphasize the range of identities that I am discussing in relationship to queer spaces. 

TRANSGENDER - An umbrella term for people whose gender identity and/or expression is different from cultural expectations based on the sex they were assigned at birth. Being transgender does not imply any specific sexual orientation. Therefore, transgender people may identify as straight, gay, lesbian, bisexual, etc.

This term is sometimes shortened to “trans” by the narrators and myself in this thesis.

LESBIAN - A woman who is emotionally, romantically or sexually attracted to other women.

My definition of lesbian includes anybody who identifies as a cis-female, gender queer, or non-binary and is attracted to others who identify in a similar way.