Queer

High school (ages 12+)
People & Society

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/queer

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the historical usage?Pejorative term for those deviating from sexual and gender norms
2. What is the period of reclamation?Late 1980s
3. What does the word "queer" mean today?It is a word people use to describe themselves when they don’t fit into typical ideas of gender or love. It can mean many different ways of being.
4. Why did people start using "queer" as a positive word?In the late 1980s, activists wanted to change the word from a hurtful insult into a proud label. They used it to show courage and to say that they are not just "other".

Heteronormativity: The assumption that heterosexuality is the default and most natural sexual orientation.
Cisnormativity: The assumption that cisgender identities are the default and most natural gender identities.
Intersectionality: The interconnected nature of social categorizations such as race, class, and gender as they apply to a given individual or group.
Assimilationist: Seeking to become similar to the dominant group in society.