Queer

The word “queer” is an ideal subject for Type Wear's Boundless collection, so much so, we present two designs. Its original meaning — and the first definition you come upon today, in your dictionary of choice — is defined as “strange,” “peculiar,” or “odd.” In the late 19th century, the word morphed into a derogatory label for gay people. Through the late 1970s into the 1980s, the cultural pejorative faded somewhat and the word returned — conversationally, anyway — to its original meaning, until recently.

By the early 2000s, it increasingly became used to describe a broad spectrum of non-normative sexual and gender identities — and politics. People participating in this ‘label’ share a general opposition to binary models, normativity, and a perceived lack of intersectionality. Queer arts, queer cultural groups, and queer political groups are examples of these modern expressions.