The fact that the word was invented by outsiders does not imply that those who identified with it could nor adopt it as their own. Identities are invariably reinforced by reference to outsiders, and no social or psychological law decrees that insiders should necessarily provide the linguistic tool kit with which a self-conscious identity can be constructed.

XREF: Connects to discussions of reclaimed slurs and self-designation in social identity theory; also relevant to postcolonial studies of naming.

Diego Gambetta, The Sicilian Mafia The Busi…, loc. 356