Volume 6: Charmed at First Sight
"I pedaled on my bike and headed towards that holy ground for queer people, the park in front of the station near Nagato's apartment complex."
He's referring to the park where alot of the story takes place. How did he come to nickname it that?
Yeah the word queer should be changed from that line. Make it into "odd" or something, queer is used as "gay" or "homosexual" mainly by North American English society. I'm no so sure about the UK but I think that word should be changed.
I think it should stay. Queer means strange, and I personally think changing the word because of other connotations that have been added relatively recently in its usage is an insult to it. Particularly as it is still used for its original meaning.
"Queer" is quite fine, and probably what I'd call a place like that. We can't be like Bevis and Butthead every time a unique turn of a phrase shows up in a story (huh huh....Kyon said "wand.")
Besides, I still hear people call counterfeit money "queer." I think its use is justified.
I use queer all the time. I've been known to come over queer, and sometimes queer things happen around me. In fact, I don't know very many people who don't use it properly. There is no way it is an outdated word.