Reclamatory or reactionary?

I love my programs of study. In particular I'm beginning to love my minor more and more every day. It's a stereotypically liberal field that attracts the Feminists like myself, and the readings are pretty cool. Where else can I round up my grls (Betty, Gloria, Andrea, Eve, Jennifer, Susan, Simone, and all the others--That's Betty G. Friedan, the incomparable Gloria Steinem, Andrea Dworkin, Eve Ensler, Jennifer Baumgartner, Susan Anthony, and Simone De Bouviour to be exact) and get credit for arguing? And I like my teacher for this class.

There's just something I've been wondering for a while.

Is reclamation really the answer to slurs and negative comments?
Reclamation is the act of taking a slur or any other kind of insult and turning it around to make it something positive. It's a way of saying, "Your words don't hurt me. I like being [insert slur here], it's not a bad thing at all!" I can agree with the aspect of not letting words and labels get you down. After all, words are only words. Need some examples?
The Vagina Monologues contains a piece named "Reclaming Cunt." In it, the actress describes how she likes the word and in the end, the audience shouts the word CUNT over and over again. The actress for this year did an amazing job, and she made it sound almost beautiful. I even own a pin that says "Say it, tell me CUNT" on it, and apparantly, it was a term of praise way back when. Now it isn't. Hooray for pejoration (sarcastically).
The Bitch magazine (which is pretty kickass, if you were wondering) uses the title as a way of taking back the term bitch. And I've even called myself that, since I know I can be pretty tough and stubborn when I want to be. As Angela Shelton said, "Bitch means Being In Total Control of Herself!" Tell me you don't love that acronym.

People who wish to reclaim a term have an uphill battle. Those words are still used as insults. But where do you draw the line, if you do?

My gender studies professor is a very out lesbian, and she constantly calls herself a big bad [derogatory term for lesbians here] ALL THE TIME. I personally find that term to be disgusting. I can't bring myself to type it, much less say it, since I never resort to slurs. She says she is reclaiming it. But it's somewhat uncomfortable for a nice liberal politically-correct feminist lady like myself to hear that. Several classmates who aren't as comfortable with lesbians have used that term to describe her--and they don't mean it in a reclamatory way.

So where do you draw the line?

Reclamation can be empowering since it means not letting words control you. But does it also feed the stereotypes? If you're tolerating labels like those, people will only continue to say them, and as we all know, they will only get worse. The word "hussy" was in fact just a term for a housewife when it was first created. We all know what it means now. Is it empowering, or does it just give people an excuse to say those and have it continue to be tolerated?

I don't think my professor would like it if anyone called her that term. That word (as well of other words for homosexuals) is used in hate speech and vandalism against them. I know people have called me a bitch--and meant it negatively--and I know there have been times when I didn't like it. I know also that I CAN'T STAND IT when male rappers refer to women as "bitches" and "hos." So when is it okay to say it and when is it okay not to?

I think we all need to stand back from this a minute and realize everyone's comfort levels. We need to stop saying that only one of these ways is the "right" way to be an empowered woman, because frankly, there IS no one "right" way to be an empowered woman. We don't need to let words control us, but we also don't need to tolerate anything that is meant to defame and degrade others. And just because you may call yourself something doesn't mean that everyone should follow suit, nor does it mean that everyone will be comfortable with it.

But some days I'd like to get through a day without hearing or reading any slurs.