Image by Sharon McCutheon
The word ‘queer’ might be strange to many but it also means ‘strange’ or ‘odd’; indicating a deviation from the norm. It was turned into a pejorative to describe those with homosexual desires and behaviors about a century ago. In this regard, it is important to note that people who identify as queer differs from intersex people. People under this umbrella have a personality disorder that has nothing to do with hormones or genetic deformity like the case of the intersex people.
Queer in this subject matter is a multi-faceted word that is used in different ways and means different things to different people. It means an attraction to people of many genders; non-conformity to cultural norms around gender/sexuality; and a general term referring to all non-heterosexual people. It has under its umbrella sexual and gender identities under than heterosexuals and cisgenders.
The people under this category are found in the acronym LGBT which means Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual, and Transgender people although the list may continue. These groups of people identify with queer, either individually or as an umbrella term. It encompasses a wide range of identities and doesn’t risk excluding groups that the acronym may leave out.
For the sake of my readers, I’ll like to define these terms associated with sexuality and gender. This include:
Bisexual: it means being sexually attracted to both men and women.
Cisgender: it denotes or relates to a person whose sense of personal identity and gender corresponds with their birth sex.
Gay: it denotes a man who is sexually attracted to other men.
Heterosexual: it means being sexually attracted to people of the opposite sex.
Homosexual: it means being sexually attracted only to people of the same sex as oneself.
Lesbian: it denotes a woman who is sexually attracted to other women.
Intersex People: formerly knowns as hermaphrodites; they are people who have both the male and female reproductive sex organs in their bodies.
Pedophile: a person who is sexually attracted to children.
Transgender: it denotes or relates to a person whose sense of personal identity and gender does not correspond with their birth sex.
Transsexual: a person who emotionally feels herself or himself to be a member of the other sex.
All these categories of people except for heterosexuals and cisgenders are not identified as queer as well as intersex people which are found in conditions related to physiological abnormalities.
Olumide is a young, handsome, caring, and soft-spoken man that every lady wants to meet. He pays more attention to his looks more than any other thing and there is nothing wrong with that. What was off was that Olumide had posters of handsome men all pasted in his room. He was serving as one of the corps members in our hostel during the mandatory youth service.
As months passed by, we noticed he had a strong affinity for the male folks and never want to have anything to do with the opposite sex. It was during a colleague’s birthday party we sensed a foul play. We noticed he always want to rock the male folks and not the females who are all willing to dig it down after several shots of liquor. We finally knew his identity when one of us disguised as gay. He couldn’t stop sending romantic messages to his disguised-lover only for him to confess afterward that he is crazily in love with male folks especially those with full body and beards.
Although we later find out that he had a girlfriend, it was a case of being bi-sexual for the lad. He stated he always has shifting feelings for both sexes even though the urge for men is higher. This situation of Olumide and several other people with same-sex attraction has been found out to be a case of the personality disorder known as Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) which is also referred to as Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder (EUPD). It is a mental illness characterized by a long pattern of unstable relationships, a distorted sense of self, and strong emotional reactions.
Read also: Intersex People Are Not Homosexuals
BPD is the reason transsexuals emotionally feel themselves to be a member of the other sex. The symptoms of this personality disorder often result in impulse actions and problems in relationships.
People with a personality disorder may experience mood swings and display uncertainty about how they see themselves and their role in the world. As a result, their interests and values can change quickly.
The signs and symptoms of people with personality disorders are numerous even though it is not the same for individuals. According to studies, the cause of borderline personality disorder which is an attribute of queer is not yet clear, but research suggests that brain structure and functions, and environmental, cultural, and social functions play a role, or may increase the risk for developing this disorder.
It is therefore important to know that intersex people are completely out of the queer umbrella which consists of the LGBTs. Intersex people are individuals born with any of several variations in sex characteristics including chromosomes, gonads, sex hormones, or genitals that, according to the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, “do not fit the typical definitions for male or female bodies”. These people only have hormones and genetic deformities but not personality disorders.
An intersex person wants to be a heterosexual depending on the gender he/she has more characteristics. They were born with this physiological abnormality which can be corrected/treated. As for queer with a personality disorder, it is difficult to treat although people under this identity feel proud and have also been fighting for rights as legitimate human beings too in some parts of the world although it is illegal in Nigeria and several other countries.
We are now living in a world where many live their lives the way they want it. Queer may seem to be odd and out of the norm for many people but people under these identities are also having a voice to claim for human rights even though many societies are against it including Nigeria and several other African countries.
Man is created by God to be heterosexual as he created man and created alongside to be fruitful and multiply. Anything short of this is a barbaric act and is a work of purely mental illness leading to personality disorder which is destabilizing our society.
Well, you can share your opinions and thoughts on this topic as the statements above are my opinion on this cogent topic. Thanks for taking the time to read this piece.
Sources: Wikipedia, www.nimh.nih.gov.