Can someone explain exactly what queer means

[Brad]

I mean, my school has a Queer Resource Center.

 

[KaydeeKrunk]

Queer can mean many things, it can mean weird, unusual, and also can be used an an umbrella term for someone who isn't heterosexual. It can also mean gay specifically, so really it can be used a lot of different ways, I don't consider myself queer but as an umbrella term it would work for me because I am pansexual.

 

[StrawberryTiger]

I thought it meant "weird" and when I used it one time to mean "weird" other people in a chatroom went all haywire because of it and kept saying it was offensive and said it related to calling LGBT people with an offensive term, which was totally new to me.

...So weird .o.

 

[Knopekin]

maybe it's a cultural thing but honestly i have never heard anybody use queer as a slur.

Most people just go for f*g or ****.

In Britain at least, queer is still a much-alive insult. It's complicated, because the popularity of the term 'queer' as an inclusive alternative to the ever-growing LGBTQI+ is growing among young people (in schools and university), but for everyone a bit older, it has a lot of negative connotations.

As the movie Pride rightly said "there is a tradition in the gay community that if someone gives you a label, you pick it up and you wear it and own it" - which I agree with (lord knows, the word 'lesbian' has been said to me in a derogatory way many, many times), but it gets flung around so much these days, and I'm not 100% comfortable with other people (even other LGBTQ+ folks) labelling me as 'queer', the same way I wouldn't appreciate being called a ****.

Tl;dr: it's complicated, and even the gays don't know.

 

[Kittyinpink87]

it means like " odd " or " weird" .

 

[EpicGamer12]

I think the word itself is a fun word and I like to use it to describe things that I find odd. Where I live it's actually quite known as something that shouldn't be said.

 

[Kapriznyy]

In Britain at least, queer is still a much-alive insult. It's complicated, because the popularity of the term 'queer' as an inclusive alternative to the ever-growing LGBTQI+ is growing among young people (in schools and university), but for everyone a bit older, it has a lot of negative connotations.

As the movie Pride rightly said "there is a tradition in the gay community that if someone gives you a label, you pick it up and you wear it and own it" - which I agree with (lord knows, the word 'lesbian' has been said to me in a derogatory way many, many times), but it gets flung around so much these days, and I'm not 100% comfortable with other people (even other LGBTQ+ folks) labelling me as 'queer', the same way I wouldn't appreciate being called a ****.

Tl;dr: it's complicated, and even the gays don't know.

This! This is what I was getting at when I posted earlier. Thank you for elaborating.
It is indeed complicated, and probably best to go on a case-by-case basis depending on who you're with, if you decide you want to use that word, OP.