The Use and Perception of Reclaimed Group Labels for Lesbian Women and Gay Men

Abstract

This research tests whether self-labelling with a derogatory or reclaimed label is perceived as an act of reclamation. A pilot study (N = 102) identified English terms used to label lesbian women and gay men. The main study (N = 276) used a between-groups vignette design in which participants read about a woman/man self-labelling with a descriptive (lesbian/gay), reclaimed (queer), or derogatory group (dyke/fag) label. We assessed perceptions of the speaker (control/influence, agency, and efficacy) and group power, label offensiveness, and the likelihood of using the label in the future. Descriptive labels were perceived as less offensive and more likely to be used compared to reclaimed and derogatory labels. For gay men, using a derogatory label compared to other labels decreased perceived agency, but did not influence control/influence and efficacy. For lesbian women, there were no differences in perceptions of power depending on the label used.