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The term "queerspawn"  

post #1 of 29
Thread Starter 
So my partner saw my sig the other day and wrinkled her nose. She isn't too fond of the term "queerspawn". I've seen it used here often, and wondered what folks thought about it.

I like it because it resonates with my politics of being a bit in your face about my queerness and making people feel uncomfortable (including like the love of my life obviously so that they hopefully get unsettled from visions of 'normality'.

Thoughts?
post #2 of 29
I saw a documentary last year about a group called queerspawn that meets every year somewhere on the east coast(Mass maybe?) So maybe thats where it comes from - it is an acutal organization.

Here it is http://www.queerspawn.org/
post #3 of 29
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by pranava View Post
I saw a documentary last year about a group called queerspawn that meets every year somewhere on the east coast(Mass maybe?) So maybe thats where it comes from - it is an acutal organization.

Here it is http://www.queerspawn.org/
Yup, I know it is an organization of kids from queer families. I guess I should think about the use of the term - kinda like queer? Only can be claimed by those who have the identity? Or want it?
post #4 of 29
I absolutely love the term queerspawn!

My partner and I identify as queer, not lesbian, because 1) he is genderqueer 2)we have ftm trans and genderqueer lovers. Add in that we have another member of our family who will be a secondary co-parent and our outside the box community and there is no other term that encompases our family quite as fully. As a result our kid will definitely be "queerspawn" in more ways that one.

We are also a bit "in your face" about our queer identity but in our circles of Portland it can be a bit redundant.
post #5 of 29
I don't love it, but I suspect that's because I don't ID as queer. I don't have a problem with the term, I just don't use it.
post #6 of 29
My dw and I don't identify as queer, but we like the term. I do like the idea that it is different and it lets people know exactly where we are coming from.

When I first found MDC I showed one of my co-workers the site and showed her that they even have a queer parenting section and she was a little taken aback, as she thought queer was a "bad" word. So.....I guess you never know how other will react. Will they see it as a representation of queer families, or will they assume we mean something negative?
post #7 of 29
DH and I are both queerspawn ourselves (well, sorta. Both our moms are NOW with women and have been since we were kids). I don't find it offensive. I'll ask DH when he gets home from work, as he is quite a bit more conservative than I am.
post #8 of 29
I'm a jolly queer, but I won't be using the term for our child. He or she or hir or hem can decide for themselves what placards they want to brandish to the world at large.
post #9 of 29
I agree. I sometimes use "queer" to describe myself, but my son is just my "son."

If he wants to call himself queerspawn, gayby or anything else, he can do so, and I will refer to him that way too, but for now, I prefer more traditional terms.
post #10 of 29
I love it! But I also love the term "queer" and putting my queerness out into the world in ways that might make people uncomfortable. I think discomfort can lead to growth if people are open to new ideas.

I wouldn't identify my (future) children as queerspawn unless that's how they chose to identify, but I would love it if they used it.

I like the "spawn" part of it--I think it's what makes people uncomfortable about the word, but I also think it's an amazing satire of the "fear the queer" mentality in a lot of America. If queer people are the evil menace trying to take over god-fearing American men and women, we certainly wouldn't have kids. We would "spawn." I think that poking fun at that belief is awesome.

(And it evokes in me a most fantastic image of an army of ittle-bitty queerspawn crawling with sweet baby smiles towards a cowering herd of fundamentalists. What's not to love? )
post #11 of 29
I agree with duckling in liking both the "queer" and the "spawn" part of it, and we do use it - in fact, we bought a onesie on cafe press that says QueerSpawn for his first gay pride day! However, I am also intrigued by the comments about not picking my kid's labels, so I think I'd have to say that while I'm comfortable using it in a joking way about my infant/young toddler, I doubt I'd continue to use it about him as he starts to become more conscious about his own identity/our identity/sexuality/etc. In other words, as soon as he starts having his own labels, I won't be putting this one on him... I think that works for me...

Of course, we don't actually *call* him queerspawn, and in fact, it was much more of a joke when he was either in-belly or just out-of-belly, and it really hasn't come up so much since he was a little guy, so perhaps we've already moved past "labeling him" with it without even realizing it?

The truth is, though, no matter what I label him as, he is the child of a queer family, and using or not using a certain term won't really change that much - I'll definitely share the term with him when he starts to ask about stuff like that, to let him know that's one way people refer to themselves/others, and yes, I'll teach him the differences between someone using it respectfully about their own community and someone using it disrespectfully about someone else's community...

Interesting how much a simple word like this provokes! lol!

(oh, and I'm queerspawn myself, though we never would have thought of the word in the 70s/80s lesbian feminist community I grew up in! lol!)
post #12 of 29
I love that term. I think it is cute.
post #13 of 29
Quote:
Originally Posted by spedteacher30 View Post
I agree. I sometimes use "queer" to describe myself, but my son is just my "son."

If he wants to call himself queerspawn, gayby or anything else, he can do so, and I will refer to him that way too, but for now, I prefer more traditional terms.
I agree... Although, I had never heard "gayby"
post #14 of 29
I think it's cute and amusing. No politics here. 'Course, I also think of my future fetus/baby as "the parasite."
post #15 of 29
It is interesting to here that a lot of people think of "queerspawn" as stating that the child is queer. I never thought of it like that. I always considered the term to mean "a child spawned by queers" which is (for good or ill) something my child will always be regardless of the kids future sexual or gender identity.
post #16 of 29
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Twylightdove View Post
It is interesting to here that a lot of people think of "queerspawn" as stating that the child is queer. I never thought of it like that. I always considered the term to mean "a child spawned by queers" which is (for good or ill) something my child will always be regardless of the kids future sexual or gender identity.
I don't necessarily think it means my kid is queer, but in the interests of self-definition, I would want him to come to his own idea about how he sees his family. Maybe he will despise the word queer, and want to be seen as "lesbianspawn" or some such thing (or nothing at all). Anyhow, I still use the word as you can see (haven't edited my profile). I'm very interested in the ongoing discussion...
post #17 of 29
Interesting, interesting.

We are about as queer a couple as you get ... maybe that's why I shy away from topping it all off with a queerspawn moniker for the little one.
Overkill? Flaunting the obvious?

I don't make it a point to do things to make folks uncomfortable, but I know that our very parenting pushes people's buttons. I guess I just don't want the kid to be the button.
post #18 of 29
starling&diesel...I agree with you on that. I think I'm somebody who doesn't necessarily flaunt my queerness...but I don't shy away from it. I suppose I could use the term with friends...family...those who know me...maybe in a joking way. I'm a "don't rock the boat" kind of person. That's just me...I totally have no problem with others who use the term freely...it's just not something I think I'll call my child. I think the term you used "overkill" is probably a good way to describe how I feel about it.
post #19 of 29
Right, I don't think I am saying that my son is queer by using the term queerspawn to describe him...

I do, however, feel that the term is highly political and I am not going to push *my* son into that political role.

<sigh> I used to be quite the activist, and now, I find myself tired. Tired of the politics. tired of deconstructing. Tired of processing. Tired of educating.

My energy has turned inward. My real interest is raising the best child I can. Much of that activism is still present because I want to raise my child to be aware, compassionate and committed to justice.

I hope that one day *he* will choose to use the term queerspawn to describe himself, but until that happens, he is just my son. I don't have an issue with other people using it to describe their children, or even to describe my child. But, he has so many roles placed on him as he navigates the world.
post #20 of 29
Quote:
Originally Posted by spedteacher30 View Post
<sigh> I used to be quite the activist, and now, I find myself tired. Tired of the politics. tired of deconstructing. Tired of processing. Tired of educating.
I'm right there with you most days.
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