- Reclaiming
: "For the neopagan organization of this name, see
Reclaiming (neopaganism) . For other uses seereclaim ."To reclaim is to bring a word back to a more acceptable course. This can have wider implications in the fields ofdiscourse , and is often described in terms of personal or socio-political empowerment.Linguistics
To reclaim something is the political process and strategy consisting in re-evaluating and re-appropriating terms that in the dominant culture are used to oppress minorities. Similar to the '
gay pride ' movement, this process differs because of its provocative elements: derogatory terms come to acquire positive meaning in the tight circle of the literati, while they keep their negative connotations outside of it.Michel Foucault discusses this idea as a 'reverse discourse' in his "History of Sexuality : Volume I."The use of these terms by people who are not members of that group tends to remain viewed as strongly derogatory, with one notable exception being "military brat" (but only when "brat" is prefixed by "military" or a specific branch of military service).
One of the older examples of successful reclaiming is the term "Jesuit" to refer to members of the
Society of Jesus : originally a derogatory term referring to people who too readily invoked the name ofJesus , over time members of the Society adopted the term for themselves and the word came to refer exclusively to them, and only in a positive or neutral sense.Reclaimed words
*'
Bastard , by adopted people. [See, for example, the Bastard Nation website: http://bastards.org/bb/0.WhatisBN.html ]
*'Nigga ' by the black movement [For example, the bandN.W.A. , or the titles of several ofRichard Pryor 's recordings. Or listen to a wide range of 90's-2000'ship hop music .]
*"Brat " by children of U.S. military personnel
*'Flip' byFilipino American youth
*'Mutt ' by people ofmixed race
*'Bitch ', 'cunt ' and 'feminazi ' by thefeminist movement
*'Slut ', and 'slag' bypromiscuous ,sexual liberation ,polygamous andpolyamorous affiliates
*'Pervert ' by members of theBDSM andfetish communities.
*'Dyke', 'poof ', 'queer ', and 'homo' by theLGBT movements [SeeQueer Nation for several relevant examples]
*'Tranny ' by thetransgender andtranssexual rights movements Fact|date=August 2008
*'Crip ' and 'gimp' by people withdisabilities
*'Redneck' by political movements from theAmerican South , especially conservative movements; also a term alternately embraced and shunned by Southerners with rural, somewhat unsophisticated backgrounds
*'White Trash ' by caucasian persons with low moral or social standards; traits of this group often overlap with "Redneck"
*'Liberals', often avoided near the turn of the 21st century in America due to demonization by conservativetalk radio
*'Jesus freak ' by Christians, and especially Christian teens
*'Papist ' by Roman Catholics
*'Animal lover' by animal rights advocatesDubious|date=March 2008
*'Wog ' by Australians of Southern European descent
*'Tree hugger ' by environmentalists
*'Gaijin ' bywesterner s living inJapan
*'Spic ' byLatinos andHispanics in America, especially youth
*'Geek ' by those sections of teenagers
*'Nerd ' by technophiles and people with a deep interest in science fiction, video games, and other obscure, niche hobbies and interests
*'Witch ,' 'Pagan ,' and 'heathen ' by theneopagan community
*'Rats ' by theRats of Tobruk ee also
*
Reappropriation — a term with a similar meaningNotes
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