![queer vs gay definition queer vs gay definition](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/queertheory-150128073519-conversion-gate02/95/queer-theory-2-638.jpg)
![queer vs gay definition queer vs gay definition](http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KBgTUb17hCQ/T8QDh5G1f6I/AAAAAAACyM4/sUG8UFwl8mE/s1600/celebrity_bromances_04.jpg)
![queer vs gay definition queer vs gay definition](https://64.media.tumblr.com/c5e9b9748e19f51047c35667e9077615/43750b73371c5b96-97/s500x750/b585b345212581c0911dd6fc7b421281dcc986df.jpg)
With all of this in mind, it's clear that there's a lot to unpack in those five letters. Still, others do not use "queer" for themselves at all. On the flip side, however, there are many people in the LGBTQ community who choose to use the word "queer" over established labels or emerging ones like pansexual, demisexual, or others. As is the case with many identifying labels, being queer can mean different things to different people for example, when I refer to "being queer" myself, I am referring to being part of the greater LGBTQ community - that is, I personally identify as a lesbian, but I also identify with the community as a whole. But while many people both outside and within the LGBTQ community are familiar with the terms lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender, fewer people are familiar with what the term "queer" means. Within the LGBTQ community, there's a lot of discussion about what exactly the acronym and its variations mean and why we use them.