Talk:Queer Nation

It

It's a very small point and, as the author of the article, you can make the decision, but I just think saying "the word" instead of "it" in that sentence is slightly clearer. There are two possible referents for "it" in that sentence (also "the way"), and saying "the word" again just seems slightly "cleaner" to me as a native English speaker. I imagine you think it's repetitive. I don't perceive it that way, but that's a valid perception. Like I say, a very small point.

Great article though! Thanks for creating it. Moncrief, 11 Mar 2004 (UTC)

Actually, it was Yacht who created it, but thanks anyway. You're right, I thought it was repetitive. But I am not a native speaker, so if you think it's better spelled 'the word', go ahead. -- Kimiko 09:45, 11 Mar 2004 (UTC)

Yep, that looks better, Dysprosia. Thanks. -- Kimiko 09:52, 11 Mar 2004 (UTC)

awful... Dysprosia is clever! :O --Yacht 09:57, Mar 11, 2004 (UTC)

:) Dysprosia 10:01, 11 Mar 2004 (UTC)

How did u get that code? --Yacht 10:09, Mar 11, 2004 (UTC)

here. Works to protect your email address from spambots, too! (Use URL Decode/Encode). Dysprosia 10:12, 11 Mar 2004 (UTC)

thanks, that's useful. ;) --Yacht 10:30, Mar 11, 2004 (UTC)

Requested

Copied from my talk page:

do u have any ideas of Queer Nation, which is listed in the Wikipedia:Requested articles? not a person's name, eh? a nationality or a country? weird. --Yacht 04:34, Mar 10, 2004 (UTC)

Google gives lots of hits for "Queer Nation". I'll look into it later today. -- Kimiko 07:47, 10 Mar 2004 (UTC)

Queer Nation is (was? I'm not sure if it still exists in any form) is neither a person nor a nationality, but rather an activist gay group, most effective and powerful in the late 80s and early 90s in the USA, that sought to aggressively fight for gay rights through protests (such as at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York against the homophobic then-archbishop of NYC), through the "outing" of closeted people who spoke against gay causes or were otherwise ineffectual in fighting for gay rights, and so forth. An entry on Queer Nation would definitely a worthwhile addition to Wikipedia. Moncrief, 10 Mar 2004 (UTC)

Thanks Moncrief. I totally agree with you. --Yacht 09:03, Mar 10, 2004 (UTC)

Here are some useful links:

• Manifesto (note: you'll probably have to edit the URLs of the parts a bit (replace \ with / and delete the final \))
• some articles
• article
• http://www.4edu.info/LGBT/ESL_16.1_queer.htm
• article by a former QN member
• Hmm, an encyclopedia article :o)

-- Kimiko 16:56, 10 Mar 2004 (UTC)

After reading a little:

• QN was founded in March 1990 by activists from ACT-UP.
• Even though they never officially disbanded, most sources agree that QN is no more.
• They are mostly praised for starting the reclaiming of the word queer.
• Rumor has it that they once outed (one or more) public figures. I could not find confirmation of this and one source suggested that it was a misunderstanding.
• Their slogan was "We're here. We're queer. Get used to it.".
• Queer Nation is also:
  • A web comic
  • A TV show from New Zealand
  • A club in London
  • Chaucer's Queer Nation is the title of a book by Glenn Burger

Hmm, if someone could come up with an opening sentence, this could be the start of a new article. Don't look at me, I hate creative writing.

-- Kimiko 22:44, 10 Mar 2004 (UTC)

I will try. but what u just mentioned is good enough to write an article. --Yacht 00:09, Mar 11, 2004 (UTC)

Thanks. I'm not very good at starting artices :o)

I think the outing incident should be included too. It's one of the things that got QN in the news and that they are remembered for (even if incorrectly). -- Kimiko 08:30, 11 Mar 2004 (UTC)

Please just add that. i am always worrying if my broken English is readable for English speakers. ;) --Yacht 08:56, Mar 11, 2004 (UTC)

What's the language the website u added to the article? not English i think?--Yacht 09:51, Mar 11, 2004 (UTC)

eh... i went to the http://www.rfsl.se/?p=633 :(. sorry for that, 'cause i've never seen such strange a link form... --Yacht 09:54, Mar 11, 2004 (UTC)

Marxist, socialist, communist?

What are the references for the claims that QN were marxist/socialst/communist? It seems a little odd to me. ntennis 03:21, 15 February 2006 (UTC)

OK those untrue claims now removed. ntennis 14:20, 15 February 2006 (UTC)

"Sixty Queers"

Something strikes me. In the second paragraph it mentions "...sixty queers gathered..." (as well as additionally using the term throughout the article). Is this terminology that would be in an encyclopedia? I don't present this as any kind of pro- or anti- homosexual point, just more along the lines of, if a straight man was to say that in general conversation with an unfamiliar person, wouldn't it be considered offensive or maligning? Either way, in general, the term queer here is mildly ambiguous as queer itself means "strange." As way of reinforcing this, I cite the Wikipedia "Queer" article itself, which states the use of the term is controversial as many still consider it derisive. In summary, I believe it is still far more of a slang term at this point than any form of acceptable, specific jargon. Also questionable is the statement of Queer Nation "reclaiming" the word. There's a difference between reclamation and a group trying to turn an offensive term used to deride its members into part of said group's technical lexicon. Shipton 03:44, 13 October 2006 (UTC)

Agreeed. This doesn't sound like an encyclopedia. NCdave 02:46, 24 September 2007 (UTC)

What is Queer Nation?

The article does not fulfill the primary goal of an encyclopedia to clarify in the first sentence what the lemma describes. As ist was founded it presumably is a group of people. What is its formal organisation? What are its goals? Both points should become clear in the first paragraph. Starting with a historical overview (Q. was founded...) is not the way to achieve this. - Sorry for my harsh wording. 134.147.233.155 15:59, 8 March 2007 (UTC)

"Four Activists"

More because I genuinely want to know, and not necessarily a direct criticism, but any idea which four were the founders? (this annonymous comment was added on 19 March 2007 by 72.75.223.229)

The first and second paragraphs seem to contradict each other.

First: "[It]was founded in March 1990... [by] four founders..."

Second: "March 20, 1990, sixty queers gathered... to create a direct-action organization."

So, how many founders were there? Four or 60? NCdave 02:52, 24 September 2007 (UTC)

"One of the four was a survivor of anti-gay violence."

"One of the four [founders] was a survivor of anti-gay violence." A claim like that needs documentation. Who was he? Where's the reliable source? NCdave 02:43, 24 September 2007 (UTC)

Yes, it seems unlikely that only one of the founders would have suffered from anti-gay violence. Hyacinth (talk) 02:53, 1 July 2008 (UTC)

Should This...

Be added?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxGQzs22K3s

It was public, it was broadcast, it involved a major celebrity. I just can't nail down a date or any more information besides this video. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.131.221.143 (talk) 12:19, 15 July 2008 (UTC)

As it happens, I was just now looking up Wikipedia articles on Queer Nation and Arsenio Hall to see what the fall-out, if any, from that appearance was. Paul Hogan is the guest in that clip, and IMDB lists him appearing in the Arsenio Hall Show episode dated Dec. 14, 1990. Since he was promoting Almost an Angel (US release date of Dec. 19, 1990), that seems reasonable. 68.113.73.180 (talk) 22:23, 30 August 2009 (UTC)

Shouting slogan... I remember one differently

"We're here, we're queer, we're fabulous, get used to it!" —Preceding unsigned comment added by 131.215.115.31 (talk) 23:26, 28 May 2009 (UTC)

My name is Richard Noble. I was the queeer national Arsenio Hall came out to the audience to speak to. I was the first person on national television talk shows to say, "I'm Gay". That was our objective. We would have stormed the stage and been arrested had it not been for Arsenio Hall's courage. Remember Andrew Dice Clay was who we were after, not Arsenio. He was a gay bashing womanizer we were all sick of and his jokes weren't funny anymore especially after thousands of our gay young white male brothers were and had been dying systematically from AIDS. We weren't going to be told to shut up and be intimidated any longer. The slogan was, "We're here. We're queer. Get use to it." But let me tell you as a queer national, I'd say any damn thing I pleased at that point despite possibilities of jail. We weren't the population of blacks in the civil rights movement or when the millions of people moved for Ghandi. We were a small population and nice tactics weren't working. There was a holocaust going on and it was either eat or be eaten. This time is was militancy. And, I have no apology for it. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Richardnoble (talk • contribs) 01:52, 1 October 2009 (UTC)

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"practice of outing"

I'm not sure what was meant by this in the introduction. "Outing" suggests outing other people as queer, but the only thing I can find is Queer Nation advocating being out and visible. the citation doesn't mention anything about outing. Lindseyta (talk) 21:40, 26 April 2023 (UTC)

Yeah, it’s still up too. Only opinion from Queer Nation i dug up is an angry refusal to answer a question about outing in a 1991 Newsweek article.

“The new gay radicalism has produced its own pernicious double standards, demanding protection for some and total exposure for others. At a recent meeting in San Francisco of Queer Nation, a gay group in the extremist vanguard (page 24), a NEWSWEEK reporter asked for a show of hands on two questions: how many members supported outing and how many were "out" to their parents. The queries met with angry refusal.”

Aug 11th, “The Age Of ‘Outing,’” Bill Turque, Newsweek 2601:43:C201:1EE0:8486:45A0:CD38:D318 (talk) 05:19, 22 December 2023 (UTC)

It seems to me that it might be referencing the "Queer Nights Out" as discussed in the third paragraph Is it possible that within the cultural context 'outing' was also used to describe this style of direct action at the time? If so, it might be a good idea to add a footnote explaining the different meaning. Otherwise, I agree that the usual meaning of 'outing' does not suit here. Norahqueen (talk) 12:03, 2 January 2024 (UTC)