|
Reappropriation
In linguistics, reappropriation, reclamation, or resignification is the cultural process by which a group reclaims words or artifacts that were previously used in a way disparaging of that group. It is a specific form of a semantic change (i.e., change in a word's meaning). Linguistic reclamation can have wider implications in the fields of discourse and has been described in terms of personal or sociopolitical empowerment. Characteristics A ''reclaimed'' or ''reappropriated'' word is a word that was at one time pejorative but has been brought back into acceptable usage, usually starting within its original target, i.e. the communities that were pejoratively described by that word, and later spreading to the general populace as well. Some of the terms being reclaimed have originated as non-pejorative terms that over time became pejorative. Reclaiming them can be seen as restoring their original intent. This, however, does not apply to all such words as some were used in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nigger
In the English language, ''nigger'' is a racial slur directed at black people. Starting in the 1990s, references to ''nigger'' have been increasingly replaced by the euphemistic contraction , notably in cases where ''nigger'' is Use–mention distinction, mentioned but not directly used.Oxford English Dictionary Online, s.v. ''nigger, n. and adj''.; ''neger, n.'' ''and adj''.; ''N-word, n''. In an instance of linguistic reappropriation, the term ''nigger'' is also used casually and fraternally among African Americans, most commonly in the form of ''nigga'', whose spelling reflects the phonology of African-American English. The origin of the word lies with the Latin adjective ''wikt:niger#Latin, niger'' ([ˈnɪɡɛr]), meaning "black". It was initially seen as a relatively neutral term, essentially synonymous with the English word ''negro''. Early attested uses during the Atlantic slave trade (16th–19th century) often conveyed a merely patronizing attitude. The word took on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Queer
''Queer'' is an umbrella term for people who are non-heterosexual or non- cisgender. Originally meaning or , ''queer'' came to be used pejoratively against LGBTQ people in the late 19th century. From the late 1980s, queer activists began to reclaim the word as a neutral or positive self-description. In the 21st century, ''queer'' became increasingly used to describe a broad spectrum of non- heteronormative sexual or gender identities and politics. Academic disciplines such as queer theory and queer studies share a general opposition to binarism, normativity, and a perceived lack of intersectionality, some of them only tangentially connected to the LGBTQ movement. Queer arts, queer cultural groups, and queer political groups are examples of modern expressions of queer identities. Critics of the term include members of the LGBTQ community who associate it more with its colloquial, derogatory usage; those who wish to dissociate themselves from queer radicalism; and tho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Semantic Change
Semantic change (also semantic shift, semantic progression, semantic development, or semantic drift) is a form of language change regarding the evolution of word usage—usually to the point that the modern meaning is radically different from the original usage. In diachronic (or historical) linguistics, semantic change is a change in one of the meanings of a word. Every word has a variety of senses and connotations, which can be added, removed, or altered over time, often to the extent that cognates across space and time have very different meanings. The study of semantic change can be seen as part of etymology, onomasiology, semasiology, and semantics. Examples in English * Awful – Literally "full of awe", originally meant "inspiring wonder (or fear)", hence "impressive". In contemporary usage, the word means "extremely bad". * Awesome – Literally "awe-inducing", originally meant "inspiring wonder (or fear)", hence "impressive". In contemporary usage, the word means " ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pejorative
A pejorative word, phrase, slur, or derogatory term is a word or grammatical form expressing a negative or disrespectful connotation, a low opinion, or a lack of respect toward someone or something. It is also used to express criticism, hostility, or disregard. Sometimes, a term is regarded as pejorative in some social or ethnic groups but not in others or may be originally pejorative but later adopt a non-pejorative sense (or vice versa) in some or all contexts. Etymology The word ''pejorative'' is derived from a Late Latin past participle stem of ', meaning "to make worse", from ' "worse". Pejoration and melioration In historical linguistics, the process of an inoffensive word becoming pejorative is a form of semantic drift known as pejoration. An example of pejoration is the shift in meaning of the word '' silly'' from meaning that a person was happy and fortunate to meaning that they are foolish and unsophisticated. The process of pejoration can repeat itself around ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dyke (slang)
''Dyke'' is a slang term, used as a noun meaning lesbian. It originated as a Homophobia, homophobic Pejorative, slur for masculine, butch (lesbian slang), butch, or Androgyny, androgynous girls or women. Pejorative use of the word still exists, but the term ''dyke'' has been reappropriation, reappropriated by many lesbians to imply assertiveness and toughness (for example: the Dykes on Bikes motorcycle club). Origins and historical usage The origin of the term ''dyke'' is obscure and many theories have been proposed. Most etymology, etymologies assert that ''dyke'' is derived from ''bulldyke'', which has a similar meaning. The term first appears in an August 1921 article in the journal ''Medical Review of Reviews'' titled "The 'Fairy' and the Lady Lover". In this article, Perry M. Lichtenstein, a prison physician in New York City, reports on the case of a female prisoner he examined: "She stated that she had indulged in the practice of 'bull diking,' as she termed it. She wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Monet - Impression, Sunrise
Oscar-Claude Monet (, ; ; 14 November 1840 – 5 December 1926) was a French painter and founder of Impressionism painting who is seen as a key precursor to modernism, especially in his attempts to paint nature as he perceived it. During his long career, he was the most consistent and prolific practitioner of Impressionism's philosophy of expressing one's perceptions of nature, especially as applied to ''En plein air, ''plein air'''' (outdoor) landscape painting. The term "Impressionism" is derived from the title of his painting ''Impression, Sunrise, Impression, soleil levant'', which was exhibited in 1874 at the First Impressionist Exhibition, initiated by Monet and a number of like-minded artists as an alternative to the Salon (Paris), Salon. Monet was raised in Le Havre, Normandy, and became interested in the outdoors and drawing from an early age. Although his mother, Louise-Justine Aubrée Monet, supported his ambitions to be a painter, his father, Claude-Adolphe, disa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
High Culture
In a society, high culture encompasses culture, cultural objects of Objet d'art, aesthetic value that a society collectively esteems as exemplary works of art, as well as the literature, music, history, and philosophy a society considers representative of its culture. In popular usage, the term ''high culture'' identifies the culture either of the upper class (an Aristocracy (class), aristocracy) or of a status class (the intelligentsia); "high culture" also identifies a society's common repository of broad-range knowledge and tradition (folk culture) that transcends its social-class system. Sociologically, the term is contrasted with "low culture", which comprises the forms of popular culture characteristic of the less-educated social classes, such as the barbarians, the Philistinism, philistines, and ''hoi polloi'' (the masses), though the upper classes very often also enjoy low culture. Matthew Arnold introduced the term "high culture" in his 1869 book ''Culture and Anarchy'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
African Americans
African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. African Americans constitute the second largest ethno-racial group in the U.S. after White Americans. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of Africans enslaved in the United States. In 2023, an estimated 48.3 million people self-identified as Black, making up 14.4% of the country’s population. This marks a 33% increase since 2000, when there were 36.2 million Black people living in the U.S. African-American history began in the 16th century, with Africans being sold to European slave traders and transported across the Atlantic to the Western Hemisphere. They were sold as slaves to European colonists and put to work on plantations, particularly in the southern colonies. A few were able to achieve freedom th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
LGBT Social Movements
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) movements are social movements that advocate for LGBTQ people in society. Although there is not a primary or an overarching central organization that represents all LGBTQ people and their interests, numerous LGBTQ rights organizations are active worldwide. The first organization to promote LGBTQ rights was the Scientific-Humanitarian Committee, founded in 1897 in Berlin. A commonly stated goal among these movements is equal rights for LGBTQ people, often focusing on specific goals such as ending the criminalization of homosexuality or enacting same-sex marriage. Others have focused on building LGBTQ communities or worked towards liberation for the broader society from homophobia, biphobia, and transphobia. LGBTQ movements organized today are made up of a wide range of political activism and cultural activity, including lobbying, street marches, social groups, media, art, and research. Overview Sociologist ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Washington Redskins Name Controversy
The Washington Redskins name controversy involved the name and logo previously used by the Washington Commanders, a National Football League (NFL) franchise located in the Washington metropolitan area. In the 1960s, the team's longtime name—the Redskins—and the associated logo began to draw criticism from Native American groups and individuals. The topic, part of the larger Native American mascot controversy, began receiving widespread public attention in the 1990s. In 2020, the team responded to economic pressure in the wake of the George Floyd protests by retiring the name and logo. The team called itself the "Washington Football Team" before rebranding as the Commanders in 2022. "Redskin" is a racial slur for Native Americans in the United States and First Nations in Canada, First Nations in Canada. The term ''redskin'' underwent Pejorative, pejoration through the 19th to early 20th centuries and in contemporary dictionaries of American English it is labeled as offensi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stereotype
In social psychology, a stereotype is a generalization, generalized belief about a particular category of people. It is an expectation that people might have about every person of a particular group. The type of expectation can vary; it can be, for example, an expectation about the group's personality, preferences, appearance or ability. Stereotypes make information processing easier by allowing the perceiver to rely on previously stored knowledge in place of incoming information. Stereotypes are often faulty generalization, faulty, inaccurate, and Belief perseverance, resistant to new information. Although stereotypes generally have negative implications, they aren't necessarily negative. They may be positive, neutral, or negative. They can be broken down into two categories: explicit stereotypes, which are conscious, and implicit stereotypes, which are subconscious. Explicit stereotypes An explicit stereotype is a belief about a group that a person is consciously aware of a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
