I'll call it now, I'm NOT fabulous.

'Fabulous': a word we all too often see hurled lovingly towards the LGBTQ community. Of course it's usually done in a supportive manner, but what impact does this word have on the LGBTQ community? This is something I have thought of for a while but still don't know how to effectively communicate and so I apologise if my views don't make much sense. I'm more posing a question than providing a specific criticism.

I sit here, writing this article in my humble home, feeling and looking far from fabulous. There is an empty mug at my side that once held tea in need of washing. My hair is between dye stages,blonde with dirty brown roots. I'm clothed in my traditional writing garb which consists of comic book themed pyjama bottoms and a band shirt which, today, is also covered in a festive woolly poncho because it's laundry day. I've not worn make-up for days and I don't plan on it any time soon.

I am also a member of the LGBTQ community.

As a queer female I do sometimes wonder if the word 'fabulous' provides a tokenistic view of the LGBTQ community. Urban Dictionary defines the word 'fabulous' as 'the ultimate compliment in the gay community' and some synonyms given online for the word are 'mythical' and 'fabled' which almost suggests that LGBTQ members are akin with creatures and beings from fairy-tales. Though a complimentary adjective, it somehow seems a little regressive. It projects this image of the LGBTQ community as a homogenous, uniform group where everyone involved is the overly stereotyped, effeminate beings. Sure, some of us are, but this does not represent us as a group. It makes us seem like something different and that we must always be at the top of our game to reach that 'fabulous' level that seems to be expected of us.

Now of course 'fabulous' is a positive, complimentary word but to associate it with an entire section of the population just seems problematic. We are but men, and women, and those who reject the gender binary and the assumed roles that it provides. If you prick us, we bleed. If we have a day off, not all of us get dressed up or go about doing stereotypical activities. We are a varied group; we are humans. I do worry that the association of fabulousness with queer individuals presents us more as a homogeneous, stereotyped group rather than just people.

What are YOUR views on the use of the word 'fabulous' as a word some see as an almost intrinsically queer word?