Queer pretty much means anything nonconventional like asexual, pansexual, etc. but it's also an umbrella term that all the letters of LGBTQ+ fall under.
Technically speaking, gay and queer aren't different. Gay is queer.
Queer is things like the non-binary gender community, trans, gay, bi etc.
Queer used to be an insult towards the gay community but times have changed and now the whole LGBT spectrum have embraced it as an umbrella term of sorts.
"Queer" is if you don't identify as anything in particular, but you're not necessarily straight. It's just a nice way to avoid labels, which I get.
Thankfully I am gay, have attractions to men and men only, and its been that way my entire life, but for someone that has perhaps lived a straight life and then over the years developed feelings for the same-sex, or whatever, then you might be reluctant to definitely label yourself as one thing when you don't quite know.
I personally detest the word "gay". It implies that the ~gay experience~ is rainbows and sunshine all the time which couldn't be farther from the truth.
gay is generally homosexual male (tho sometimes homosexual females call themselves gay) and queer basically means anybody that doesnt obey gender norms or sexuality norms (for the most part)
