Reclaiming Queer

What do you think of when you hear the word Queer? Does it make you uncomfortable or confused? Do you know what it even means?

Like Eve Ensler did with "cunt" in The Vagina Monologues, I want to reclaim 'queer.'

Queer is a great term, but like many great terms it is controversial. If you look up 'queer' in Merman Webster's Dictionary, you'll come across the following definition: 

queer adj \ˈkwir\
1
a : worthless, counterfeit <queer money>
b : questionable, suspicious
2
a : differing in some odd way from what is usual or normal
b (1) : eccentric, unconventional (2) : mildly insane : touched
c : absorbed or interested to an extreme or unreasonable degree : obsessed
d (1) often disparaging : homosexual (2) sometimes offensive : gay 4b
3
: not quite well

The definition at its core gives 'queer' a rather harsh and negative meaning. Yet, if you look at 2a, it seems to fit the overarching LGBTTQQIAAP (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transexual, Transgender, Queer, Questioning, Intersex, Asexual, Ally, Pansexual) community quite well. 2a states 'differing in some odd way from what is usual or normal.'

If you look at the statistics, homosexuality or 'queerness' is rather not normal, with the widely accepted estimate that about 10% of the population is 'queer.'

"Queer" is used in many academic senses as an overarching term for the LGBTTQQIAAP community as a whole. Take for example "Queer Theory" or "Queer Studies" which sound much simpler than using the clunky acronym the community has grown to love. "LGBTTQQIAAP Theory" does not roll off the tongue as easily as "Queer Theory" does. 

"Queer" makes things easier to explain to people not in the know. Have you ever tried to explain what "LGBTTQQIAAP" stands for? As someone who identifies as "P" or "Pansexual" saying I'm queer to someone who is not 'in the know' is a lot easier than saying straight up that I am a pansexuall being, since that usually leads to a some times long and confusing explanation of pansexuality which sometimes delves into also explaining transexuality and transgendered individuals. (If you are wondering, pansexuality means that one likes people in general and doesn't look at their sex or gender.)
It also makes it easier for people who identify as things that are harder to explain, like Asexual, or having no sexual attraction to anyone. Like the term ‘pansexuality,’ which my friends often joke with me about sounding like I have attraction to pans, my asexual friends have often been asked if they are a plant, like a flower who reproduces through ‘asexual reproduction.’
Queer better signifies the LGBTTQQIAAP community as a whole than any other word other than perhaps ‘homosexual’ does. With ‘queer’ meaning ‘atypical’ it helps to explain the atypical sexuality of many in the LGBTTQQIAAP community. There are more terms people in the community use to identify themselves that are not mentioned in the already clunky LGBTTQQIAAP acronym. Things like ‘poly amorous’ and ‘gender queer’ are not mentioned.
Queer is also widely used in popular media when it comes to LGBT related material. Take the hit show “Queer Eye For The Straight Guy.” Back in the mid 2000s, a team of gay males with a knack for doing makeovers of sorts would go in and make over straight men who were seemingly clueless about fashion and culture. The show brought “queer” into the mainstream and into vogue at least for a little bit. 
Other not so mainstream pieces of media have also used “queer” as part of their titles, such as “Queer as Folk” and “Queer Duck.”
Despite the media’s love of using ‘queer’ to describe gay males, it is still considered an overarching term in the community by many.
Some see ‘queer’ as a positive thing when used within the community but a negative thing when used by people in a taunting way, as an insult. There is a double standard at times with ‘queer,’ much like there is with terms like ‘faggot,’ ‘dyke,’ and ‘tranny.’ Some like them, some see them as a bad thing, offensive terms.
I want to reclaim ‘queer.’ Much like ‘cunt’ is an empowering word to some feminists, I find ‘queer’ to be an empowering term to the LGBTTQQIAAP community as a whole.