Graduation Year
2024
Document Type
Open Access Senior Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Department
Writing and Rhetoric
Reader 1
Glenn Simshaw
Reader 2
Kimberly Drake
Terms of Use & License Information
Rights Information
© 2024 Dominique Godinez
Abstract
While the word cunt has been part of reclamation projects for over fifty years in the United States, particularly in the last year (2023) on social media platforms, the revalued word has gained popularity. With increased usage of a slur historically used against women, we’re left to wonder if reclamation is appropriate and who is participating in these processes. This thesis explores the trailblazers who began cunt’s reclamation –– Queer Ballroom performers and women-artists –– contextualizes its usage through widely understood reclamation principles, and offers considerations for cunt-curious folks. In a society that has othered and marginalized women and Queer people, forms of resistance matter. Revaluing a slur –– especially one that holds intense social power –– is an attempt to work against oppressive forces. Hopefully, this thesis will serve cunt.
Recommended Citation
Godinez, Dominique, "Serving C*nt: an Intersectional Historical Look at the Reclamation of a Taboo Word" (2024). Scripps Senior Theses. 2404.
https://scholarship.claremont.edu/scripps_theses/2404
Included in
Gender, Race, Sexuality, and Ethnicity in Communication Commons, Social Influence and Political Communication Commons, Social Media Commons, Speech and Rhetorical Studies Commons
