During this time, many LGBT people began using the word “queer” to describe themselves and their culture. This was partly an act of reclaiming language, just as gay liberationists had used once-pejorative words such as “fag” and “dyke” in a new, positive context that could change their political meaning. Unlike those terms, “queer” could be used to describe people with a wide range of sexual identities who were working in coalition.
