shape. David Ferstat : 15 May 2012 6:31:13pm "Also, I cringe when people, homosexual or otherwise, call themselves "queer"? I thought homosexual and lesbians were calling for respect and understanding, queer is a self put-down, so how about a bit more respect for yourself?" One of the perversities of life and language is that the emotional connotations of a word can depend very much upon who's using it. For example, historically the terms "bent" and "queer" have been used as insults. However, many in the LGBT community have been quite happy to use the term themselves. Another example is "nigger". For centuries this has been a deregatory term for those we now call African Americans. It is still so emotionally-loaded that its use is almost always received with shock and disgust. However, again, many African Americans are happy to use it. Is this a double standard? I suspect so, but it's only one of many in the world. I recommend to you "Stephen Fry's Planet Word", which had an episode devoted to the "mis-use" of words. sarah dee : 15 May 2012 6:31:36pm While the term "queer" is used as an insult towards LGBT persons, the word by definition has always referred to people who identify with a sexual orientation other than heterosexuality. In my experience the terms 'gay' and 'lesbian' are also used as insults by ignorant and hurtful people. Perhaps individuals who identify with these terms should stop referring to themselves as gay or lesbian as well? Timsims