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Information about Reclaiming

For the neopagan organization of this name, see Reclaiming (neopaganism). For the reclaiming of land, see land reclamation.
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

See also

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
Reclaiming (formerly known as Reclaiming Collective) is an international community of women and men working to combine earth-based spirituality and political activism.
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Land reclamation is either of two distinct practices. One involves creating new land from sea- or riverbeds, the other refers to restoring an area to a more natural state (such as after pollution or salination have made it unusable).
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For other uses, see Discourses.


Discourse is communication that goes back and forth (from the Latin, discursus, "running to and fro"), such as debate or argument. The term is used in semantics and discourse analysis.
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minority or subordinate group is a sociological group that does not constitute a politically dominant plurality of the total population of a given society. A sociological minority is not necessarily a numerical minority — it may include any group that is disadvantaged
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Gay pride or LGBT pride refers to a world wide movement and philosophy asserting that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals should be proud of their sexual orientation and gender identity.
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Michel Foucault (IPA pronunciation: [miˈʃɛl fuˈko]) (October 15, 1926 – June 25, 1984) was a French philosopher, historian and sociologist.
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The History of Sexuality is the title of a three-volume series of books by French philosopher and historian Michel Foucault written between 1976 and 1984. Originally published in French, the volumes are individually titled The Will to Knowledge (
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"military brat" (and various brat derivatives)[1] is a term for a person whose parent or parents have served full-time in the armed forces during the person's childhood.
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Society of Jesus, (Latin: Societas Iesu, S.J. and S.I.) is a Christian religious order of the Roman Catholic Church in service to the universal Church, whose members are called Jesuits,
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Jesus (8–2 BC/BCE to 29–36 AD/CE),[2] also known as Jesus of Nazareth, is the central figure of Christianity, and is also an important figure in several other religions.
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Nigger is a pejorative term used to refer to dark-skinned people, mostly those of African ancestry. For centuries, it has held negative connotations, and in modern times it is considered a racial slur in most contexts.
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The word Brat has several meanings:
  • Spoiled brat, a child indulged and not disciplined.
  • Military brat (U.S. subculture), a person who grew up with one or both parents in the military.

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"military brat" (and various brat derivatives)[1] is a term for a person whose parent or parents have served full-time in the armed forces during the person's childhood.
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Filipino[1]
4,000,000 Americans
1.5% of the US population
Regions with significant populations Alaska, California, Hawaiʻi, Washington, Chicago, Northeast, West Coast, Southern U.S.
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Mutt may refer to:

Animals:
  • Mixed-breed dog, a dog that has characteristics of two or more breeds.
People:
  • Robert John "Mutt" Lange, a successful music producer.
  • A colloquial term for people of very divergent ancestry.

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worldwide view.
The terms multiracial, biracial, and mixed-race describe people who are not easily classified into a single race. (Biracial refers to those with ancestors from mostly two races).
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Bitch is a term for the female of a canine species in general. It is also frequently used as an offensive term for a woman, taken to mean that she is malicious, spiteful, domineering, intrusive, or unpleasant. This second meaning has been in use since around 1400.
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Feminazi (also spelled femi-Nazi or femme-nazi) is a , derogatory term used predominantly in the United States and Canada by political conservatives to characterize and belittle feminists whom conservatives perceive to be intolerant of conservative views.
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Feminism is an ideology focusing on equality of the sexes.[1] Feminism comprises a number of social, cultural and political movements, theories and moral philosophies concerned with gender inequalities and discrimination against women.
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Slut is a term for a person who is deemed sexually promiscuous. The term has traditionally been applied to women and is often used as an insult or offensive term of disparagement.
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For the mining or chemical term, see Slag.


Slag is a slang term, primarily used in the United Kingdom, to describe women of loose morals who engage in casual sex and promiscuous behaviour and may even be suspected of prostitution.
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Promiscuity is the practice of making casual, indiscriminate choices. Commonly, promiscuity is applied to the sexual behaviour of a man or woman who does not limit his or her sex life by the strictures of the regnant cultural norm, typically one sexual partner or lover, or
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neutrality is disputed.
* It needs additional references or sources for verification.
* It may require general cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards.

Please help [ improve the article] or discuss these issues on the talk page.
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Polygamy has been a feature of human culture since earliest history. The term polygamy (many marriages in late Greek) is used in related ways in social anthropology, sociobiology, and sociology.
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Polyamory (from Greek πολυ (poly, literally “multiple”) & Latin amor
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Dyke is a slang term for a lesbian. Originally it was a derogatory label for a masculine or butch woman, and this usage still exists. However, it has also been reappropriated as a positive term implying assertiveness and toughness, or simply as a neutral synonym for lesbian.
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The term poof can be used in several ways:
  • as a British English term for a large footstool or ottoman, see pouffe.
  • as a pejorative English term for a gay man, shortened form of poofter. See also British slang, faggot (slang).

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This article or section may contain original research or unverified claims.
Please help Wikipedia by adding references. See the for details.
This article has been tagged since October 2007.

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Tranny is a term with multiple meanings:
  • Transformer (electrical)
  • Transistor radio
  • Shortwave radio (not necessarily a transistor model), like the Zenith Trans-Oceanic Shortwave Radio
  • Transmission on an automobile
  • A term for a transgender person.

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Transgender (IPA: /trænzˈdʒɛndɚ/, from trans (Latin) and gender (English)) is a general term applied to a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups involving tendencies that diverge from the normative
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