Is there a term for a group 'owning' a previous insult?

Question

Is there a term or word for the process of a group of people taking (or attempting to) an insulting word/phrase and making it their own? I'm thinking about something more than normalization or desensitization but more of a process of almost making it part of their identity.

For example, 'queer' and 'gay' used to be insulting terms for homosexual people. However now it is included in the LGBTQ acronym. On the flip side, 'Faggot' is still insulting and no attempt has been made to 'own' it.

To a lesser extent the word 'nigger' has been taken on and used by various people in songs etc. I believe someone tried to trademark the word 'nigga' as a brand name for genuine business purposes. The attempts to 'own' this insulting word have been less successful than 'queer'.

What is the word or term for this process?

Answer 1

The process is known as reclaiming or sometimes reappropriating.

See uses such as

• https://www.huffpost.com/entry/how-jillian-michaels-is-reclaiming-fag-and-dyke_n_569d1303e4b0ce4964253749

• https://www.facebook.com/1236939913080962/posts/on-behalf-of-all-jews-im-hereby-reclaiming-kike-as-a-word-to-refer-to-a-jewish-b/2313647942076815/

• https://www.huffpost.com/entry/8-women-on-why-they-are-reclaiming-the-word-fat_b_57eec8d0e4b0972364deb2e4

On the flip side 'Faggot' is still insulting and no attempt has been made to 'own' it.

This is quite incorrect, many attempts have been made to reclaim faggot and especially fag.

Answer 2

idioms

I asked a follow up to this question, which broadened the scope to words which are unrelated to group identities (so the follow-up is not a duplicate). In the comments someone mentioned an expression which happens to answer this question, too.

to wear (something) as a badge of honor

To consider something to be a point of pride, especially that which is typically considered negative.

Although, obviously it's not a single-word (as requested), it is an idiom which conveys the meaning.