| Description |
This thesis analyzes and determines whether or not the pejorative fag or faggot is in the process of being reclaimed by the LGBTQ+ speech community. Previous research on linguistic reclamation has not provided an adequate model for determining whether or not a pejorative is within the process of being reclaimed, but rather has focused purely on perceptions of the target pejorative by the target speech community. In an effort to encompass more data from the speech community, this thesis takes into account both perception and reported use of the target pejorative fag or faggot by members of the LGBTQ+ speech community. In order to determine whether or not the target pejorative is in the process of being reclaimed, both linguistic and philosophical models of reclamation were used to create an adapted model that takes reported use and perception into account. This new model quantifies reported use of the pejorative-separated, or reclaimed, phrase in three stages. Stage 1 and 2 focus on reported use by members of the speech community, and Stage 3 takes community-external use of the pejorative-separated phrase into account. Stage 1): less than 10% of the speech community reports use; Stage 2)-(broken down into 2 substages): a) less than 50% and more than 10% of the speech community reports use, or b) more than 50% of the speech community reports use; and Stage 3): use of the pejorativeseparated phrase by a speaker outside the speech community is reported accepted by members of the target speech community. Based on this new model and using data collected from an anonymous survey, the pejorative fag or faggot is, in fact, in the process of being reclaimed by the LGBTQ+ community. Within the new model of reported use, the pejorative-separated phrase falls into category 2a), with more than 10%, but less than 50% of the sample speech community reporting use. Perception of the pejorative varies, but the overall perception is that the word is still inherently negative. The majority of participants who chose to expand on their personal experiences with the pejorative noted that while they personally did not use the pejorative in any situation, other members of the speech community were known to and such use was, for the most part, accepted. The perception of use of the pejorative phrase by speakers outside the speech community was overwhelmingly negative. ! |
