Queer culture is the heritage of culture, knowledge, and references to which Queer people fall heir by the fact of their sexual orientation.
The idea is quite contentious. Some argue that there are too many queer people who do not participate in Queer culture for the idea to be meaningful, or that Queer culture constitutes a stereotype. It may be pointed as an attempt by queer community leaders to dogmatize the group and prevent more masculine gay men and more feminine lesbians from being themselves.
Others argue that Queer culture is an undeniable fact, and/or that it constitutes the basis of a Queer nation with a common understanding and history.
Among the first to argue that Queer people constitute a cultural minority as well as being just individuals were Harry Hay and the Mattachine Society.
Queer culture can include various elements, such as
- the work of luminaries who were queer (such as Michelangelo Buonarroti, Oscar Wilde, Sappho, Gertrude Stein, and so forth);
- an understanding of the history of the gay rights movement;
- an ironic appreciation of things linked by stereotype to gay people;
- pop-culture icons who are queer or who have had a traditionally queer following (such as disco, Madonna, Judy Garland and so forth);
- works of art, literature, film, and so forth, that deal with the lives of Queer people;
- figures and identities that are present in the Queer community such as the gay village, drag, camp, and the fag hag.
See Polari, rainbow flag, pink triangle, black triangle, Queer studies
