TermReappropriationInTheWomen'sMovement Imagine
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Micaela Annis Writing 106 Professor Hyman Term Reappropriation in the Women’s Movement Imagine a dark haired woman standing on a stage alone. She is in Chicago, New York, or maybe, San Francisco. With determination, she looks her audience square in the eye and says “I call it cunt.” The word rolls off her tongue. She says it with intention, but without the vulgarity that is usually coupled with the term. Instead, she seems to say it like it is a battle cry. She does not turn red, or become bashful or whisper. The woman is loud and unashamed. She begins 1 saying that same word, cunt , over and over. The letters sound harsh and intense. The “c” makes that crackling “ka” noise and she ends on a hard “tee”. The audience, who was at one point shocked, begins saying it over and over with her. An entire room of primarily women echoes with the chant “cunt, cunt, cunt.” By the time the woman leaves the stage all one can hear is “CUNT, CUNT, CUNT” being shouted throughout the auditorium (Ensler 31-32). Eve Ensler did just that in her monologue “Reclaiming Cunt.” She is the dark haired woman standing alone, welcoming an entire audience to shout one of the dirtiest words in english language at the top of their lungs. The Vagina Monologues are described on Ensler’s professional website as “an Obie Award-winning whirlwind tour of a forbidden zone.” (The Vagina Monologues). But, in “Reclaiming Cunt” Ensler does more than just “tour.” As stated in the title itself she attempts to reappropriate a word designated for oppression. Ensler’s tactics for term reappropriation are more drastic than the natural process in which words are reclaimed. Rarely, if ever, does chanting a word truly change the general societal perception of the word. Although “Reclaiming Cunt” is a feminist, pro-woman and pro-female bodies statement, many feminists would not dare to say the cunt, even fewer would proudly chant cunt along with Ensler. But her monologue attempts to do something that has been 1. For the sake of readability quotation marks around derogatory terms have been omitted in some places throughout the paper. Annis done with dozens of words before. In “Reclaiming Cunt” Ensler tries to normalize and delegitimize the derogatory nature of the word. Perhaps she hopes for cunt to be viewed similarly to geek or queer, words that have largely been reappropriated as socially acceptable or even positive terminology. Clearly, cunt has not been largely destigmatized and is still generally viewed as derogatory, but other once derogatory words have been almost entirely reclaimed. There are even words that are part of our everyday vernacular that were once viewed as disparaging, offensive or otherwise inappropriate. Word reappropriation has a rich history that stretches from long before Ensler’s infamous monologue to this very moment, as I sit googling the word cunt in a very busy Starbucks. For many communities reclaimed terms have been everything from a battle cry to an identity to a point of diversion. Term reappropriation is often a tool that seems to exist in a wide range of communities, including among LGBTQIA people, African Americans and amongst the disabled. In recent years, word reappropriation has been very prominent within feminist groups, who like Ensler, have created new meanings for words that once were used to primarily oppress women. The feminist movement, like many others before, has utilized reclaimed terms with great success, but not without significant limits of the the reclaimed terms. First, it is necessary to further define the words “reclaimed” and “reappropriation.” These words are essentially synonymous. They both mean to gain something back that was once given or taken away. It is important to note that these words are also used loosely in the context of terminology. There are few terms that are entirely reclaimed. Because the transition of words is a process, every reclaimed word is actually in a certain stage of being reclaimed. Furthermore, there will always be factions within communities. Certain members of a group may disagree with 2 Annis the use of a reappropriated term, while other members will fully embrace it. Additionally, the appropriate use of a reclaimed term often depends on personal identity, place and audience. Few derogatory terms have become entirely reclaimed by communities, and even fewer are socially acceptable for anyone to use. Although “reclamation” and “reappropriation” can be used generally, the incremental and subjective nature of etymology makes it difficult for any word to truly be reclaimed. It would be ignorant to discuss how the feminist movement has utilized reclaimed terms without discussing the process of word reclamation in general and the history of specific communities’ reappropriation of derogatory terms. The most prominent example of this is how factions of the then LGBT community reclaimed the word queer. The reclamation of the term is most commonly accredited to the activist group Queer Nation, which distributed pamphlets titled “Queers Read This” in the late 1980s (Rand 3). At the time few lesbians or gays self identified as queer. According to Sidney Chase, of the Huffington Post, “queer… is derived from a 16th-century term meaning “eccentric.” It was not until the late 19th century that the term queer was used in a derogatory manner to refer to effeminate males.” (Chase) A full century later, when Queer Nation began to distribute their pamphlet, the word was still seen as disparaging. Many argue that “Queers Read This,” changed how the term is used. Anthony Slagle, in his publication “In defense of Queer Nation: From Identity Politics to a Politics of Difference” argues that “by using the term queer, Queer Nation diffuses the hate and intolerance associated with calling someone queer.”( Slagle 85). The choice to self-identify as queer empowers those who have been on the margins of society because the word itself no longer holds the same power of