Practices of Slur Use.

Given the apparent nondisplaceability and noncancellability of the derogatory content of slurs, it may appear puzzling that non-derogatory uses of slurs exist. Moreover, these uses seem to be in general available only to in-group speakers, thereby exhibiting a peculiar kind of context-sensitivity. I...

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Published in:Grazer Philosophische Studien Vol. 97; no. 1; pp. 86 - 106
Main Author: Hess, Leopold
Format: Article
Published: Brill Academic Publishers 2020
Subjects:
Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
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        atl: Practices of Slur Use.
      aug:
        au: Hess, Leopold
        affil: University of Warsaw
      su:
        Discriminatory language
        Ingroups (Social groups)
        Group identity
      sug:
        subj:
          Discriminatory language
          Ingroups (Social groups)
          Group identity
      keyword:
        in-group uses
        intentional description
        non-derogatory uses
        reappropriation
        slurs
        social practices
      ab: Given the apparent nondisplaceability and noncancellability of the derogatory content of slurs, it may appear puzzling that non-derogatory uses of slurs exist. Moreover, these uses seem to be in general available only to in-group speakers, thereby exhibiting a peculiar kind of context-sensitivity. In this paper the author argues that to understand non-derogatory uses we should consider slurs in terms of the kind of social practice their uses instantiate. A suitable theory of social practices has been proposed by McMillan. In typical (derogatory) uses the practice is one of bigotry and discrimination. Non-derogatory uses are only possible to the extent that they consitute acts of an alternative, non-derogatory practice. In the core cases it must be a subversive practice of satire or reappropriation. The social identity of speakers is not an ultimately decisive factor (in-group uses may still be derogatory) but it is an important constitutive condition: most non-derogatory practices of slur-use can only be performed by a member of the target group.
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    language: English
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