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Queer Studies

This guide was designed to help students in their research on topics related to Queer Studies.

Discussing Queer Culture

The language you use is important! Demonstrating sensitivity towards others' experience is an important part of being an academic. See the resource below for some respectful terminology and helpful 'dos' and 'don'ts'.

When doing your research, keep in mind that some older texts may contain defamatory words or phrases. They were written in a different time period. It is okay to reference these texts, but do not use these words and phrases in your writing or in your everyday life.

Keyword and Subject Search Terminology

The LGBTQ+ community is diverse. Over time, researchers and cataloguers have used many different names to discuss, categorize, and index research about the community as a whole, as well as the separate and unique LGBTQ+ experiences of the community. Search terms will change across time periods, disciplines. Terms used within a sub-community to describe themselves may also differ from those used by the mainstream. Not everyone will agree with all of these definitions.

Along with the broader terms of queer or LGBTQ or 2SLGBTQIA+ also include the specific communities you researching such as (but not limited to) lesbian or gay or bisexual or transgender or nonbinary, etc.

Consult the following guides to select the terms which best express the identities, topics and issues you wish to explore. 

This guide is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License. You may copy the guide as long as credit is included. Please be aware that many of our guides contain links to subscription-based services for which access is restricted to authorized users. Library licensed resources (such as journal articles or ebooks) are not permitted to be uploaded to third-party platforms, including generative AI tools, like MS CoPilot or ChatGPT. Consult the licenses and terms of use for each resource.