queerplatonic

English

Etymology

From queer (“transgress or reevaluate, especially in accordance with queer theory”) +‎ platonic (“non-sexual and non-romantic”).[1]

Coined by Dreamwidth user Meloukhia in 2010[2] who further popularized it in 2011 through posts on WordPress[3] and Tumblr[1] and said it "describ[ed] relationships where an intense emotional connection transcend[s] what people usually think of as ‘friendship’ is present, but the relationship is not romantic in nature […] though [it] can be sexual".[1][4][5]

Pronunciation

  • (General American) IPA(key): /ˌkwiɹ.pləˈtɔn.ɪk/
  • Audio (US):(file)

Adjective

queerplatonic (comparative more queerplatonic, superlative most queerplatonic)

  1. (neologism, of a relationship) Not romantic and (usually) not sexual, but sharing a stronger emotional bond than typical in a friendship.
    • 2012 November 15, Ashton Strait, “Beyond bffs: cozying up to queerplatonic relationships”, in Post, volume 14, number 8, Brown University, page 3:
      At the end of a tough day, “just friends” might simply hug, whereas a queerplatonic couple is more likely to crawl right into bed together without thinking twice. Think Hannah and Marnie from Girls rather than Rachel and Monica from Friends. The former pair's friendship is an excellent example of a queerplatonic relationship, even if they might not label it that.
    • 2013 February 14, Tracey Hickey, “Asexuality should be recognized as a legitimate sexual orientation”, in The Pitt News, University of Pittsburgh:
      Outside the romantic paradigm, some people form what they’re calling “queerplatonic” relationships. The word indicates nothing about the gender of the participants, but speaks to the desire to “queer” our understandings of platonic friendships. These are relationships of care — “life partnerships” that go quite beyond what most of us consider ordinary friendship. Many sexually ambiguous literary or onscreen relationships — think Frodo and Sam, Holmes and Watson, Thelma and Louise — can also be read as queerplatonic.
    • 2013 September, anonymous author, “The 'A' in LGBT”, in Counterpoint, volume 35, number 1, Wellesley College, page 8:
      After feeling these concerns, I was happy to learn about squishes and queerplatonic partners (also known as zucchinis, for some reason unclear to me).
    • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:queerplatonic.

Translations

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 s.e. smith (22 January 2011) “Word of the Day: Queerplatonic”, in Tumblr‎[1], archived from the original on 22 February 2016:
    Queerplatonic is a word for describing relationships where an intense emotional connection transcending what people usually think of as ‘friendship’ is present, but the relationship is not romantic in nature […] The 'queer’ is a reference to the idea of queering relationships and ideas about relationships, not for describing the orientations or genders of anyone in a queerplatonic relationship. […] The key feature is the idea of being deeply connected to someone, without a romantic element (though a queerplatonic relationship can be sexual).
  2. ^ Meloukhia [username] (25 December 2010) “A/romanticism”, in Dreamwidth‎[2], archived from the original on 5 August 2022:
    Although I kind of like queerplatonic as a definer for the attraction I feel to my zucchini; it neatly avoids discussing the gender of either party involved, while emphasizing the idea that it is a deep (almost symbiotic in some ways) emotional connection that transcends what I think of as friendship.
  3. ^ s.e. smith (11 March 2011) “What Does Asexuality Mean To You?”, in This Ain't Livin'‎[3], archived from the original on 14 October 2015
  4. ^ Coyote [username] (9 March 2019) “A Genealogy of Queerplatonic”, in The Ace Theist‎[4], WordPress, archived from the original on 12 March 2025, retrieved 18 April 2025
  5. ^ Coyote [username] (21 December 2021) “Where Did the Word “Queerplatonic” Come From? (Infographic)”, in The Ace Theist‎[5], WordPress, archived from the original on 22 December 2021, retrieved 18 April 2025
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