It stems from an old proverb: “there is naught so queer as folk”, essentially meaning “people are strange”. The meaning of “queer” has shifted and narrowed over time to refer to sexuality, but kept its ties to this idiom, resulting in the TV show “queer as folk” and the generic phrase “queer folk”.

There is nothing especially pretentious or mythical about the word. It may just be your own assumptions/interpretations of it. Far more people have an issue with the word “queer” than they do “folk”. If you don’t like it, don’t use it, but you should also aim to shake the stigma from it, as it’s not what 99.9% of people mean when they use it.

“Folk” is pretentious in your mind? I would think the opposite were more true. Having “folksy charm” means you’re more grounded and personable when describing someone you find to be outside the norm.

Queer folk are your community members where queer people are a demographic of the population.

In my case queer folk and trans folk and LGBT+ folk come from a tip from Santa training, where you talk about a kid’s folks instead of parents, so as to not raise issues when kids don’t have them but guardians instead.

Queer folk are the people among my crew and homies and mates who identify as queer or queer-adjacient.

Folk just means people, in fact it’s less pretentious because it’s the commoner english word for people, from English’s germanic roots (see the german word Volk)

There is actually a mostly unrelated phrase from the north of England; “Nowt queer as folk.” Meaning ‘People can be strange in their behaviour’.

This may or may not have fed into ‘Queer Folk’. But it certainly was the source of a UK TV drama series called ‘Queer as Folk’ in the 90s.

“folk” does not refer to mythical creatures

“Folk” seems to denote a culture more, while “people” seems to denote you’re just pointing and saying “them people”.

So folk songs are fairy songs?

Folk is pretentious? It literally means common people, the opposite of pretentiousness. I am thinking that you don’t have much familiarity with the word nor the people that use it. It does not carry the meaning that you seem to think it does.

You are likely hearing /seeing it being used by people raised in an area where that is common vernacular to casually identify a group of people that share a culture.

The prose sounds better. Fewer syllables.

I just want to say I get where you’re coming from. It sounds similar to the way people say “fairy folk” which I assume is why you mention mythical creatures. I guess a lot of people in this thread are less familiar with that usage.

why do people care so much about the use of one word over another?

I dont know, but did anyone else giggle like an idiot because they always liked to say to myself, Queer ass Folk instead of Queer as Folk.

And im like mostly sure thats what the show runners wanted, but im okay pretending they didnt and im just amusing myself

And for the record i just like the wordplay in spite of it not being particularly clever and very obvious.

Yes i do like terrible puns as well. Not sorry

I think in more recent times it has to do with using folks as an easy gender neutral address instead of saying you guys etc, and then it spread out everywhere because it is, well, easier and people don’t want to think too much.

Idk, but I had a CD by Queer as Folk given to me by a gay friend, and that music kicked ass. Maybe it has to do with that music? I think the music was the soundtrack to a TV show. Maybe it has to do with that TV show?