I've watched attempts to "reclaim" the word "queer" for 30 years now. At first it was aspirational; I'm now convinced it's a blunder. Using the language of the graduate seminar isn't helping, and not every facet of life calls for "representation." I humbly suggest, in fact, that this is undermining tolerance and integration. Telling gay people that contriving to make their sexuality the first thing people learn about them is, it seems to me, a self-defeating indulgence.

• Reply