In my circles (Canadian, quite sexually diverse, and not particularly scholarly) it's quite normal to use the word queer as a broad term for sexual minorities. It is still sometimes used pejoratively by outsiders, but it's being "reclaimed" by insiders, not unlike other words like nigger or bitch.

Ditto for dyke and fag, and (to a lesser extent) faggot - queer women call themselves dykes all the time, and I've often heard gay men say fag or faggot. But at the same time, these words continue to be used hatefully, and it's not usually difficult to tell which way the speaker means it.

I like the word queer because it's a short snappy way to express the idea "everyone who isn't straight". I guess the politically correct term is LGBT, but I keep seeing that acronym extended to point of being unwieldy (ie., adding Q for queer or questioning, A for asexual, TS for two-spirited). If I were writing an essay, I'd probably say "sexual minorities."

Marion