If you do a 'net search of the word on the 'net Dictionary, you will come up with this, in part: (I always like to check from time to time and see what it is the mainstream is saying...)
Usage Note: A reclaimed word is a word that was formerly used solely as a slur but that has been semantically overturned by members of the maligned group, who use it as a term of defiant pride. Queer is an example of a word undergoing this process. For decades queer was used solely as a derogatory adjective for gays and lesbians, but in the 1980s the term began to be used by gay and lesbian activists as a term of self-identification. Eventually, it came to be used as an umbrella term that included gay men, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgendered people. Nevertheless, a sizable percentage of people to whom this term might apply still hold queer to be a hateful insult, and its use by heterosexuals is often considered offensive. Similarly, other reclaimed words are usually offensive to the in-group when used by outsiders, so extreme caution must be taken concerning their use when one is not a member of the group.
Much like other words that apply to our community. That they are asterisked out here, is a good example of how the mainstream views them. I find no offense in the word for lesbians that begins with a d and rhymes with bike.
Again, the context is the key. I may refer to myself as that, but someone not of our community using that term, does pose the threat for offense depending upon the intent/context of the use of the word (and other similar terms, eh?).
