reappropriating
Reclaiming for oneself
Reappropriating is taking something back or reclaiming it for a new purpose.
Groups reappropriate slurs once used against them, transforming insults into markers of identity or pride.
The term also applies to redirecting funds or resources: The committee voted on reappropriating the budget surplus.
More broadly, artists and activists reappropriate cultural symbols, giving them new meaning.
Take back possession
- empowermentGaining authority or confidence
- activismDirect effort for reform
- redressCompensation for injury
- restitutionRestoring what was lost
recovery · takeback · reassert · vindicate · repossess · seize · reoccupy · resistance
Who someone is
- heritageInherited cultural legacy
- traditionsLong-established customs passed down
- hybridityMixed-origin quality
- syncretismFusion of different beliefs
indigenization · ethnicity · diaspora · decolonization · representation · symbols · language · terminology
Adapt for new use
- reinventionComplete self-transformation
- recontextualizeAssign new interpretive frame
- reframeChange how something's viewed
- reimagineEnvision in altered form
subvert · invert · recoding · remix · adaptation · conversion · rebranding · makeover
Capacity to withstand force
- protestPublic expression of disapproval
- activismDirect effort for reform
- marginalizedPushed to society's edges
- oppressedTreated with cruel control
subaltern · grassroots · movement · solidarity · liberation · decolonization · sovereignty · autonomy
Insulting group label
- epithetDescriptive tag for someone
- terminologySubject-specific vocabulary
- labelIdentifying attachment or marker
- namingAssigning a label
vocabulary · discourse · rhetoric · pejorative · insult · wordplay · irony · sarcasm
reclaim
Take back possession
- empowermentGaining authority or confidence
- activismDirect effort for reform
- redressCompensation for injury
restitution · recovery · takeback · reassert · vindicate · repossess · seize · reoccupy · resistance · defiance
identity
Who someone is
- heritageInherited cultural legacy
- traditionsLong-established customs passed down
- hybridityMixed-origin quality
syncretism · indigenization · ethnicity · diaspora · decolonization · representation · symbols · language · terminology · slurs
repurpose
Adapt for new use
- reinventionComplete self-transformation
- recontextualizeAssign new interpretive frame
- reframeChange how something's viewed
reimagine · subvert · invert · recoding · remix · adaptation · conversion · rebranding · makeover · renewal
resistance
Capacity to withstand force
- protestPublic expression of disapproval
- activismDirect effort for reform
- marginalizedPushed to society's edges
oppressed · subaltern · grassroots · movement · solidarity · liberation · decolonization · sovereignty · autonomy · power
slur
Insulting group label
- epithetDescriptive tag for someone
- terminologySubject-specific vocabulary
- labelIdentifying attachment or marker
naming · vocabulary · discourse · rhetoric · pejorative · insult · wordplay · irony · sarcasm · defiance
reappropriatingsurrendering
Ceasing to resist
relinquishing · ceding · forfeiting · abandoning · giving up
reappropriatingstigmatizing
Marking as socially unacceptable
demonizing · perpetuating · reinforcing · weaponizing · othering
reappropriatingceding
Formally surrendering territory or rights
abandoning · disowning · rejecting · disclaiming · forsaking