The Q in lgbtq is queer, a term reappropriated a long time ago by the non-cis communities. I don't know of anywhere that thinks of it as a slur, unless you use it like one. Similarly, you can make any descriptor a negative with the right intonation.

"I wouldn't hire that woman."

"I wouldn't hire that woman"

It's the "Q" in LGBTQ... so it's definitely a word that is being "reclaimed".

Pretty much any word can cause offence these days, but ABC have presumably been advised on a house style that is acceptable.

I am not a native English speaker, but queer is repurposed by the LGBT community to include everyone, under a single name [1]. It can even include heterosexuality [2]. I definitely do not read it in any derogatory way, and would identify myself as queer.

[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queer

[2]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queer_heterosexuality

Edit: formatting

It's an American term and like usual cultural imperialism means everyone else must use it too.

> looks like my knowledge is outdated then :)

Yeah, I think this is partly a generational thing. My step-mum (in her 50s) was a bit taken a back when I used the word queer casually in conversation. But my 20-something friends in the gay/trans community pretty much all use queer to describe themselves.

I think it became popular partly as a reclamation of the word, and partly because the LGBTQIA acronym got so long and unwieldy. People want to be inclusive, but nobody wants to say LGBTQIA often.

I need to get out more clearly, I'm only 43

I'm in the UK and I don't get the sense that it's derogatory (though I'm a straight male myself, so maybe I'm not the best judge)

Isn't "queer" the Q in LGBTQ, an acronym that most will happily identify with? Perhaps it _used_ to be derogatory, but it appears has been redefined into something positive.

I'm in New Zealand and queer is used by the gay community as a positive/less specific term here.