The appropriation of words have been used to shun or shame people from their community or their individuality. I can list a bunch of words that have been used as slurs against people to dehumanize them like, nigger, queer, fruit, fag, bitch, slut, tranny, and the list goes on. There is something important about a community reclaiming a word that has been used to shame them for just being themselves. It creates resistance from the oppressor without violence. It’s simply taking the word and using it towards themselves but in a positive way. It may be weird for the first couple times but grab a group of your gay friends and call each other queers, beautiful queers that run the world. For African Americans reclaiming the word nigger has changed the way black people communicate with each other. By reclaiming the word nigger they changed the last two letters with just an “a” for the more laid back and stylistic approach. African American’s didn’t just reclaim a derogatory word but revamped it to give it a little more flavor. The act of reclaiming a word that has been used to shun a group is also means of survival and learning how to change or adapt to the given environment. It allows humans to take control of an issue and use it for their benefits instead it being against them. I’m proud to know that these words have such great meaning and history behind them and that these words are more than just words but experiences that people have with them.
Unruly Bodies 
I think this is a very important post, specifically as a response to people who claim the logic of “if everyone can’t say it, then you shouldn’t either.” This line of reasoning seems to be used to take any power that is claimed away, almost saying that those reclaiming are not capable of making decisions or having power and instead must be subject to another’s will. Explanations such as these are important for explaining that people who have these experiences can in fact repurpose words and are not saying the same thing as someone who has not had these experiences/may have been the people using them derogatorily in the first place.
I really find it interesting how this claim of the ‘N’ word is very synonymous with Susan Stryker’s piece on monstrosity and her acceptance of the ill words that people referred to her existence. I believe the same thought process has trailed through both instances. great post!
In class we talked about the reclaiming of derogatory words, specifically about how Susan Stryker urged trans people to reclaim the term “monster.” Like you mentioned in your post, Stryker notes how using words that were once a source of pain takes the power away from the oppressor. I think the n word is a concrete example of when and how derogatory terms can taken back by the ones they hurt the most. I also think that reclaiming derogatory terms is a form of healing and allowing the things that once held one back, like white supremacism, slavery, or phallic socopophilia, to work in their favor.