On what it means to reclaim
Wow, forgive me Steph from a year ago, I said I would keep this thing but looks like I haven’t seriously updated it in a year. Guilty of neglect!
Something struck me today as I was reading an anthology on the history of Asian American women. The book, in its introductory paragraphs (yes, I know it’s Week 5, but I just bought the book today) reads, “Asian American studies…has sought to recover and reclaim Asian Americans..from the margins of history…”
So what does that really mean to me? to reclaim something? I hear it used all the time, but I’m not sure we can all agree on its purpose and definition. I recently saw Vagina Monologues put on by student collaboration here at UC Berkeley, and one of the monologues was dedicated to “reclaiming cunt.” What does it all mean to you?
The word itself might portray -history, cunt, or whatever it is you want to reclaim - as something you had before, became lost to you, and then was subsequently so pushed around, neglected, and marginalized, that it now requires you to reclaim it. Reclaiming might suggest to take back what’s yours.
When in fact, for me, reclaiming means thoroughly loving, and even more thoroughly understanding what is yours, giving it back to the world, and saying hey world, you cannot push around and marginalize what is mine, and you cannot neglect what I give you. In essence, reclaiming is resharing. And you need to understand that whatever it is you are resharing (history?societal views of female sexuality?) is precious, is sacred, and thus cannot be marginalized or rendered invisible.
Reclaiming doesn’t always require running a rampant campaign of social activism, spelling women with a y, and aggressively undertaking the US vs. THEM notion. It isn’t synonymous with some new age revelation, doesn’t exclusively attach itself to our youth, and it doesn’t die after college. But it is closely attached to self awareness and education. You don’t always reclaim after you take Asian American studies, though it might help you understand. You don’t always reclaim after participating in student organizations in college and emphasizing the strength of women.
At the very least, and by all means no less powerful, reclaiming means: that at the face of even an individual challenge to your identity, your history, or your strength, you have the ability to be your own agent and speak your own truth. You have taken your identity from the grasp of society, broken its construct, and given back its truth and beauty. I can love myself all the more by understanding my own history, strength, and sexuality. But reclaiming requires not only my self love, but my bravery, for when I encounter a challenge at my identity, I am strong enough to look back into that opposing eye and say,”excuse me, but.”
