by Eva Nossem

This paper aims at examining the reception, (g)localization, and also (re)creation of different forms of “queer” in the Italian context. First, I conduct a semasiological analysis of the diachronic semantic and connotative development of the English-turned-global “queer” in order to provide a detailed insight into its palimpsestic meaning. The offensive qualities of the slur, I argue, provide the aggressive power required for self-definition in queer activism. In a next step,