Olivia and Raven discuss the controversial practice of reclaiming slurs, or marginalized communities giving certain slurs positive meanings. They get into why the “n-word” can be used in a positive way by Black people, why reclamation of “queer” wasn’t limited to the LGBTQ+ community, and what is gained by redefining and reclaiming slurs.

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Discussion Summary:

01:10: Topic intro, and what does it mean to reclaim slurs?

02:25: Discussing excerpts from the paper “Reclamation: Taking Back Control of Words”, detailing how slurs are weaponized and reclaimed, and how specific slurs have been reclaimed in different ways.

11:53: Discussing the article “Reclaiming Words Is Pointless If It Is Exclusive”, and why different slurs are redefined and reclaimed.

15:30: Objections to changing a slur’s definition according to which group uses it, the importance of context in understanding a word’s meaning, and determining who can use repurposed slurs without consequence.

35:16: Outro.

Learn More!

Reclamation: Taking Back Control of Words

https://philarchive.org/archive/POPRTB

Reclaiming words is pointless if it is exclusive

https://www.cavalierdaily.com/article/2022/03/tolliver-reclaiming-words-is-pointless-if-it-is-exclusive

Ta-Nehisi Coates on words that don't belong to everyone

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=QO15S3WC9pg