So if dodge ball is out I suppose “smear the queer” is completely verboten...
Definition of smear the queer: “Smear the Queer” How it Works: The kid who has the ball (or stick, or balled up shirt, or whatever object is used) is “it” and therefore the “queer”. The rest of the kids chase the “it” kid down until he is tackled (usually in a dog pile fashion). The caught kid then tosses the object away where the other kids gather around it and wait to see who has the guts to pick it up and start running. There is a big advantage to being quick on the pickup so as to get a better running start. There are no scores and no one “wins”. It is a childhood game of bravado designed to blow off boyhood energy.
The use of the word “queer” is not homophobic in this game. It’s used as catchy name to describe the game. The “queer” in this sense is just the kid who’s it. Because it’s completely voluntary to be the “queer”, and being the “queer” requires a certain amount of bravery, it is not used in the derogatory in this this particular usage.
This was a game we boys played 40 to 45 years ago...One time one of the fourth grade male teachers overheard someone say, “smear the queer.” He stopped our game and asked us “what does queer mean.” To which we all replied “the guy with the football.” He shrugged his shoulders told us to continue and walked away.
Apparently everyone has forgotten that the PROPER definition of “queer” is “weird”. Thesaurus analogy.
We called dodgeball smear the queer, the only rule was the person you could throw your ball at on the other team had to have a ball in his hands when you hit him.