In fact, the word queer, once the defiant reclamation of a homophobic slur, has become a ubiquitous term. While the young people I spoke to were largely resistant to the word “bisexual”, even if they are sleeping with both men and women, they used “queer” easily and freely. “Among our callers and our volunteers, more and more people are identifying as ‘queer’, particularly among younger generations,” says Natasha Walker, a trustee of the LGBT+ Helpline, which recently changed its name from the London Lesbian & Gay Switchboard in order to be more inclusive. “In the past, people were fighting for the right to be able to define themselves as lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans* etc. Although this is very much still the case, there is also a definite shift towards an acceptance of people as they are – label or no label.”

There is also some appeal in the radical roots of “queer”, particularly as same-sex desire becomes more usual: while mainstream assimilation makes discrimination less likely, it does run the risk of removing the “outsider” identity of gay life, which many are keen to preserve.

n fact, the word queer, once the defiant reclamation of a homophobic slur, has become a ubiquitous term. While the young people I spoke to were largely resistant to the word “bisexual”, even if they are sleeping with both men and women, they used “queer” easily and freely. “Among our callers and our volunteers, more and more people are identifying as ‘queer’, particularly among younger generations,” says Natasha Walker, a trustee of the LGBT+ Helpline, which recently changed its name from the London Lesbian & Gay Switchboard in order to be more inclusive. “In the past, people were fighting for the right to be able to define themselves as lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans* etc. Although this is very much still the case, there is also a definite shift towards an acceptance of people as they are – label or no label.”

There is also some appeal in the radical roots of “queer”, particularly as same-sex desire becomes more usual: while mainstream assimilation makes discrimination less likely, it does run the risk of removing the “outsider” identity of gay life, which many are keen to preserve.

n fact, the word queer, once the defiant reclamation of a homophobic slur, has become a ubiquitous term. While the young people I spoke to were largely resistant to the word “bisexual”, even if they are sleeping with both men and women, they used “queer” easily and freely. “Among our callers and our volunteers, more and more people are identifying as ‘queer’, particularly among younger generations,” says Natasha Walker, a trustee of the LGBT+ Helpline, which recently changed its name from the London Lesbian & Gay Switchboard in order to be more inclusive. “In the past, people were fighting for the right to be able to define themselves as lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans* etc. Although this is very much still the case, there is also a definite shift towards an acceptance of people as they are – label or no label.”

There is also some appeal in the radical roots of “queer”, particularly as same-sex desire becomes more usual: while mainstream assimilation makes discrimination less likely, it does run the risk of removing the “outsider” identity of gay life, which many are keen to preserve.