Young up-and-coming actor Ezra Miller has come out – but not as a gay man. Ezra declared himself queer,arguing that this is the preferred term of his generation.
The star of We Need to Talk about Kevin and The Perks of Being a Wallflower told Advocate magazine:
“It’s generational in the way that that term is newly available in a certain way. I think it feels the most open and inclusive and that’s what makes it apply for me, personally. I think there are a lot of people who fall on this open spectrum of sexuality. My friends and I use that word as an all-encompassing banner and for every human being. There should be an ongoing question and investigation of who you love and everything that’s involved with that very tricky and beautiful thing”.
LGBT History Month co-chair Tony Fenwick added:
“I wonder if it’s time to re-address the vocabulary. I was first forced to address the question when I spoke to students at a school in Hertfordshire about why we believe it is wrong to use ‘gay’ as a generic term for dysfunctional. One boy suggested that the word has been so damaged we should abandon it altogether and replace it with something else. Although I’m not certain older LGBT people will be happy to identify themselves as ‘queer’, I do wonder if ‘gay’ has become so problematic we ought to ditch it.
“Another problem with ‘gay’ is the tendency to use it as a generic; witness the media’s lazy use of the term ‘gay marriage’ instead of ‘same-sex marriage’ or ‘equal marriage’. Trans and bisexual people do not self-identify as gay and neither to a great many lesbians.
“Sometimes I hear ‘gay’ being used inappropriately more often than it is used correctly. Maybe it’s time to dump the word.”