What makes a MotorQueer Brand?

Being, Loving and Being Loved By Motorqueers - That's What!

Every time I post something here, I have to ask myself if it fits into the MotorQueer mold. And generally, I think I have good reason. Before going on though, I thought I should explore criteria for making that determination.

The first of the criteria is "Being" MotorQueer. What is Queer? Frankly, I don't want to lose my way in that debate (see Wikipedia & Wikiquote), so I will quote Karl Knapper, San Francisco Queer Nation activist:

To me, queerness is about acknowledging and celebrating difference, embracing what sets you apart. A straight person can't be gay, but a straight person can be queer.

A MotorQueer is someone who identifies themselves as Queer (including those of us in the LGBT community) and who has an interest that relates to cars, trucks, motorcycles or any other motor vehicles.

That makes it easy for you and I - we just decide if we're MotorQueer. Either we are or we aren't. I am.

But what about companies, products or services. We still get to decide, but we decide as a group, and we talk about the brand. By "brand" I mean the symbol to which we attribute an identity. That identity is a result of all the contact and communication we've had with it, our relationship if you will.

Back to the criteria: Being, Loving and Being Loved. I would suggest that a MotorQueer brand needs to meet at least two of the criteria. I don't want to put limits on how it does that, but rather suggest the criteria as a basis for discussion.

#1 Being MotorQueer

To meet this criterion a brand must be motor-related. It must also BE Queer. It could be owned or managed by queers or be inherently queer itself.

Sounds simple enough. I will leave you to ponder this and return to the other two criteria in later posts. Let me know what you think.