Reclaiming

For the neopagan organization of this name, see Reclaiming (neopaganism). For other uses see reclaim.

To reclaim is to bring a word back to a more acceptable course. This can have wider implications in the fields of discourse, 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 of Jesus, 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

• 'Nigger' by the black movement^[1]
• "Brat" by children of U.S. military personnel
• 'Flip' by Filipino American youth.
• 'Mutt' by people of mixed race.
• 'Bitch', 'cunt' and 'feminazi' by the feminist movement
• 'Slut', and 'slag' by promiscuous, sexual liberation, polygamous and polyamorous affiliates.
• 'Dyke', 'poof', 'queer', and 'homo' by the LGBT movements^[2]
• 'Tranny' by the transgender and transsexual rights movements
• 'Crip' and 'gimp' by people with disabilities
• 'Redneck' by political movements from the American 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 conservative talk radio.
• 'Jesus freak' by Christians, and especially Christian teens
• 'Papist' by Roman Catholics.
• 'Animal lover' by animal rights advocates^{[dubious – ]}
• 'Wog' by Australians of Southern European descent
• 'Tree hugger' by environmentalists
• 'Gaijin' by westerners living in Japan
• 'Spic' by Latinos and Hispanics in America, especially youth.
• 'Geek' and 'Nerd' by those sections of teenagers.
• 'Pagan' and 'heathen' by the neopagan community.

See also

• Reappropriation — a term with a similar meaning

Notes

1. ^ For example, the band N.W.A., or the titles of several of Richard Pryor's recordings. Or listen to a wide range of 90's-2000's hip hop music.
2. ^ See Queer Nation for several relevant examples