In 2013, a wave of protests started in Turkey towards the deliberate demolition of Gezi Park in Istanbul. The protests quickly developed into mass anti-government demonstrations, and a landmark second within the nation’s historical past of resistance.
On the time, the rustic’s top minister publicly insulted demonstrators, calling them çapulcu – a derogatory Turkish phrase which means “looters” or “vandals”. As a substitute of chickening out in disgrace, protesters temporarily embraced the label. They wore it proudly on t-shirts, painted it on banners and sang it in chants. “Every day I’m çapuling” turned into a rallying cry, a meme and a slogan for a motion.
Other people took a slur supposed to discredit them and became it right into a supply of harmony, defiance and pleasure. In social psychology, this custom is referred to as reappropriation, and it will probably change into how other people see themselves and one every other. Our analysis presentations that after participants of marginalised teams reclaim stigmatising labels, it no longer simplest fosters self esteem however too can spark political activism.
In different phrases, announcing “yes, I’m a çapulcu” – or “yes, I’m fat” or “yes, I’m queer” – isn’t simply resistance, it may be the beginning of a political identification.
In our find out about, revealed in Political Psychology, we explored how reappropriation works as a mental and political procedure. We needed to understand: how does taking possession of a stigmatised identification shift the best way other people see themselves and their teams? And the way does that affect their willingness to take political motion?
To respond to this, we checked out two robust case research: the 2013 Gezi Park protests in Turkey, the place protesters embraced the time period çapulcu, and the fats liberation motion, the place activists have labored to reclaim the phrase fats as a impartial descriptor.
In each circumstances, the labels have lengthy been used to stigmatise, devalue or silence. However reappropriating those phrases allowed other people to reframe their identities, from being noticed as a “problem” to turning into a part of a proud and politicised crew.
The psychology at the back of reappropriation
We blended in-depth interviews and survey analysis to know what drives other people to reclaim a stigmatising label, and the way this shapes their identification. We interviewed 20 activists in Turkey who participated within the Gezi Park protests, and surveyed 479 fats liberation activists in North The us.
Our findings counsel that reappropriation is helping cut back the non-public sting of the insult. When any person proudly adopts a time period supposed to disgrace them, they really feel it disarms the insult. It flips the ability dynamic: what used to be supposed to harm now turns into a badge of pleasure. When you put on the phrase like armour, it will probably’t be used to harm you.
The 2013 Gezi Park protests developed into national protests in Turkey.
Thomas Koch/Shutterstock
It additionally builds a way of collective identification. When other people publicly include a reclaimed label, they sign unity with others who percentage that identification and opposition to the forces that marginalise them. This shift is helping transfer other people from non-public acceptance to public motion.
Crucially, we discovered that this procedure isn’t about denying the ache of marginalisation – it’s about remodeling that ache into goal. Contributors in each actions reported that reclaiming stigmatised labels made them much more likely to interact in activism – whether or not that supposed attending protests, talking out on social media, or supporting campaigns for political exchange.
Why this issues
Lately, reappropriation is occurring throughout us. We’ve noticed it within the include of phrases like “queer”, “crip”, “fat” and “autistic” – all as soon as used pejoratively, now incessantly reclaimed as proud markers of identification. However in spite of its visibility, the method stays misunderstood.
Critics every now and then brush aside reappropriation as mere provocation or political correctness. However our analysis presentations this can be a deeply significant mental technique – one that allows other people to reclaim energy, withstand stigma and construct collective power.
And it’s no longer with regards to phrases. Reappropriation can form the process social actions. In terms of Gezi, the reclamation of çapulcu helped unify a various and fractured protest motion.
In terms of fats liberation, reclaiming “fat” has challenged no longer simplest particular person disgrace however the broader societal norms that stigmatise better our bodies. Even supposing it’s tough to assert that fatphobia is declining general, fats other people proceed to search out areas and tactics to really feel empowered, difficult prejudices and, in some social circles, dismantling societal norms about better our bodies.
In fact, no longer everybody in a marginalised crew will agree on whether or not a label will have to be reclaimed. For some, the time period might elevate an excessive amount of ache. Others might fear that embracing the label reinforces stereotypes. However that rigidity is a part of what makes reappropriation so robust and so political. It forces a public reckoning with language, energy and identification.
In spite of everything, our analysis provides a easy however profound perception: reclaiming a slur can exchange extra than simply language. It might probably exchange how other people see themselves, how they relate to others, and the way they participate in converting the arena.
