Can someone explain what "genderqueer" means?

From my experience, there's little difference between GC feminists and non binaries...

I used to believe that, too.

An enby describing, in gruesome detail on her public blog how she would like to murder me for daring to imply that there's little difference between her and me, disabused me of the notion.

Lesson learnt: Gender critical feminists want to liberate women.

Non-binaries want to throw other women to the wolves so that they themselves can be free.

It's a case of "You don't have to run very fast to escape the wolves, you only have to be faster than the other people in your group."
They need other women to be hobbled for their strategy to work.

Radical feminists are the ones who want to fight the wolves, or at least free other women so they have a fair chance at running.

The only thing we and enbies agree about is that we don't want to be eaten by the wolves.

Genderqueer/nonbinary is essentially gender critical feminism.
Both hold the idea that people don't have to conform to a set way of being a particular gender.
Gender critical feminists think the sooner we can accept people have a range of interests and personalities the better.

Genderqueer and nonbinary people think not identifying with stereotypes makes them special and deserving in the place of the oppression Olympics.

Agree with Errol. If the Scottish Gov have brain failure and decide to put non binary on the sex question on the census then As the question obviously is no longer about sex but how well you want to fit in to an imaginary gender stereotype I will tick non binary and encourage everyone I know to do the same to teach them the meaning of GIGO. If half Scotland including all the stroppy middle aged women are non binary it's "special" allure will soon fade

@Notevenmyrealname It is an important question if they are critical of gender norms - if so, it might do more to abolish them to just identify as you were born and make it clear you can be that sex and not have to comply with gender norms, thanks.

From my experience, there's little difference between GC feminists and non binaries...

Except that they haven’t made the connection that they are based on myths and misconceptions about biology and that people with female biology are disproportionately disadvantaged by them. They’re almost there.

So... they are critical of gender norms, then?

From my experience, there's little difference between GC feminists and non binaries...

I remember many a heated debated that ended in tears about whether goths had to die their hair black or if ginger was ok (never concluded)

Everyone knows that ginger is fine if you're a real Goth because Jane Morris.

In other words, the right to label others, and so put them into boxes, without being subject to a meaningful label themselves (because to fetter the freedoms of the genderqueer is literal violence).

So... they are critical of gender norms, then?

You'd have thought, but it seems more like they want other people to be limited to those 'binary gender boxes' so that they can 'identify' as not fitting into them.

I’ve found the definition.

www.dailydot.com/irl/what-is-genderqueer/

It is apparently people whose gender identities “go against traditional expectations of what it means to have a gender” and “see themselves as outside of or in between the binary gender boxes”.

So... they are critical of gender norms, then?

I think we need to get back to being a society that values stoicism and "not making a fuss".

God yes. Dh and I were watching some of the documentaries for 100 years since WW1 ended. Kids basically... flying bombing sorties and fighting for their lives. We wondered what that generation would think of this.

it was so hard to remember to choose salad cream instead of organic mayo

I'll still be laughing at this tomorrow!

DS had to organise an event for his part-time job. Apparently it had an 'LGBTQIA+ theme'.

I think what that means is 'everyone except -- YOU'.

'Gender' as a spectrum is ridiculously one-dimensional though, it suggests everyone is simply somewhere on a line between 'very feminine' and 'very masculine'. Many women adhere to some 'feminine' stereotypes (especially wrt looks because of their body shape, clothing because some styles look better on some shapes) but not at all to others (mental aptitudes, interests etc).

'Genderqueer'... more like GenderBloodyStupidPileOfIdiocy

Is no one emo now?
I totally get why young people (and not so young people) have to break out and be different. I had everything pierced cause I was so different. But no one has to give a talk at your work about not mentioning your ripped jeans.
I remember many a heated debated that ended in tears about whether goths had to die their hair black or if ginger was ok (never concluded) if officially bodies had started making charts we’d never have grown up.

Lang wins the internet today.

These kids used to have to pretend to be working class and that was a right palaver - it was so hard to remember to choose salad cream instead of organic mayo.

Much easier to swap a shirt for a blouse or vice versa.
Shame no one cares which way your top is buttoned so you have to wear a pronoun badge with it.

But whoever first came up with it must’ve know. The colours, the order... they thought we wouldn’t notice?

IIRC the "creator" of this important symbol made a ridiculously melodramatic blog post about how they were traumatised by the accusations of having appropriated the suffragette colours by British feminists.

I was yelling ‘sex sex it’s SEX’ at the radio this morning on the c of e having trans training.

And after all the bloody fuss there was about woman bishops 🙄.

As a Northern Woman (a cis one, not one who actually lives in Surrey) I don't meet many genderqueer/non binary types, and I find it quite hard to beleive it's not all a big wind up tbh.
Growing up in the 90s I had short hair and all my boyfriends had long hair. One of them often wore skirts and lots wore eyeliner ( a la Kurt Cobain). Would that be queer now?
I feel all special.

But whoever first came up with it must’ve know. The colours, the order... they thought we wouldn’t notice?

And as the suffragette movement was founded well over a century ago, who exactly is appropriating who?

That was the really funny part. On discovering this they got very defensive, because who should be expected to know anything about the stupid old Brits and their feminism

Well Mermaids are right up to a point: Gender is a spectrum. Anyone can present as gloriously butch or gloriously feminine or a mixture of everything inbetween.

Doesn’t change anyone’s biological sex though.

If we as a society weren’t so squeamish about the word sex, we wouldn’t have this false conflating between sex and gender.

Mermaids - an interesting choice of name. A mythical creature - who dies in the end trying to become something she wasn’t.

ALittleBitofVitriol
Brilliant - now I know. And to think, all of these years, I could have been taking offence at people using the wrong pronouns for me and I didn’t even realise.

Notevenmyrealname
As usual, mermaids is here to help!