Labels

[Trifoilum]

There is a growing tendency for people to avoid labels. Regardless of whether they are espousing the same value / belief or whether they are part of it or not.
Feminist. Christian. Gay. Polyamorist. Lady Gaga fans. Asian. Gamer. Geek. Apple users. Blonde. MBTI. Ex-convict. Zodiac. Men. Right-handed.

Looking beneath, there are reasons to avoid.
To be avoid direct rejection / consequences for being part of a label, or to avoid the insinuations / stereotype hidden beneath those.

But looking at in an extreme way; even our name -is- a label, no?
As a function, labels work perfectly; to distinguish one from the other. Just that; no positive or negative insinuation. Part of identity.

So why.... someone espouse one label while avoiding another?
And should anything be done?
And if anything should be done, what is it? I thought of three possibilities:
a) reduce the importance of labels; that one could, for instance, claim themselves a feminist without having it 'define' you?
b) clear the implications inside labels; that a label in particular should be stripped from its negative connotation? (the way people have been doing with the S-word for women, the N word for black people, or the F word for gays) ?
c) just abandon all labels altogether? (this sounds terribly hivemind-y, though.)
/ramble

 

[CindyLou]

Labels are awesome for others; I put everyone in their neat little boxes. Just don't label me! Hahaha

 

[Jana]

I think we can't avoid them. But maybe to use it wiser. Not assuming that we know everything about anybody only because we found his/her label..

 

[the]

"Dont label me!" It's one of those sayings that you post on facebook to seem smart and deep to yourself and a few idiotic like-minded inDUHviduals and seem like an asshole to everyone else. There is probably some frustration behind it coming from being labeled wrongly in the past.

 

[barbad0s]

The problem with labels is when people attach connotations to them. That's when words start to become "labels". It's not the word/label itself that is the problem, but hatred and blanket assumptions that people come up with, and people are going to be dicks regardless of whether or not they have handy words to attach them to. I have never heard anyone but angry internet teenagers (*hides*) say the whole "Don't label me!" thing, so personally I wouldn't see this as an issue.

 

[CindyLou]

"Dont label me!" It's one of those sayings that you post on facebook to seem smart and deep to yourself and a few idiotic like-minded inDUHviduals and seem like an asshole to everyone else. There is probably some frustration behind it coming from being labeled wrongly in the past.

Don't label me!

 

[JGirl]

labels aren't the problem
it's the use of them to cause hurt or to negate that is the problem

it's like stereotyping vs profiling
same thing really, although one is seen as negative whereas the other is considered a valuable tool in tracking criminals

i have many labels. i don't care. they are only relevant to those to attach them to me and not necessarily indicative of who or what i am.
only i truly know that.

 

[ImpureHedonism]

This entire forum is based on a label. A label, of course, does not imply a guilt by association. Not all Christians are against abortion, for example. Labels are also important for judging people about whether a particular label indicates some values in common.

 

[CindyLou]

The reason labels bother me so much is because when I was a kid my Dad would do this. I have a twin sister..so if she was one thing..I HAD to be the opposite. If she was an extrovert then I had to be an introvert. If she was popular, then I couldn't be. I was the "responsible" one, while she was the "reckless" one. She was athletic, so that meant I couldn't be athletic; I had to be the one that liked to read. Well, what if I wanted to be something else? Drove me insane. I didn't like having my personality analyzed and labeled so much before I even knew who I was yet! Annoying.

 

[Paladin-X]

I have boxes for people. It helps me understand them. Each person has an associated rule set, modified in part by generalizations, such as personality type, music culture, socioeconomic status, etc, but are completely unique as an individual. This is another reason I have a hard time with people. I understand each person as an individual, but fail to understand a group of people. They are often not the same people. Amongst groups that I might commonly associate with, then I must learn a ruleset for the dynamic of that specific group. (Haha although ultimately I fail at understand most individuals too!)

I am more inclined to associate labels in a positive or negative way to those whom I do not know. But when I do it, it is still not a reflection of anyone personally, but to an abstract concept of something else and way beyond entirely. Otherwise, when I label people that I do know, it is nothing more than a way for me to understand the 'rules' of a person, so that I might know how to interact with them.

I am an arrogant and judgemental person. I am also open-minded and humble. This does not make me a good or bad person. I am simply a person. Just like my judgements against another, though I might say that person is good or bad, I do not truly believe so, as they are merely a person, like me. With virtues and vices. Likes and Dislikes. Good actions and bad actions.

To answer your question though, I choose A. People should learn to not apply so much feeling and emphasis on words, but that learning is within the self. It does not matter that another uses a word to imply a derogatory and negative feeling towards me. The word only has power when we let it. We do not need to feel either for or opposed the word, or the usage of the word. Words themselves have no feeling. We give it feeling. Being a geek used to give negative feelings, nowadays, being a geek implies a more positive feeling. Even words that have no other purpose than to cause pain in another, if you feel nothing and have no reaction in hearing the word, it will cause no pain, and it will give its user no power. This is only one point of view, there are many in trying to describe the power of a word, but I'll end it here for now.

One example, is being an English-speaking person growing up in Quebec, I was bullied a lot. However, I laughed at their insults (well on the inside anyway! I didn't want to get beat up more!). If I call you a frog, you are insulted and get mad. Call me a squarehead and I laugh. The word is stupid as an insult. Perhaps it is because I do not understand why it is an insult? But then again, I don't understand why being a frog is an insult. Even the N-word. My closest friend growing up was black. There was an older white man, chilling outside, and decided to call my friend that word as we passed, for no good reason. I did not understand why it made him cry and mad. I still don't, not truly. All I understood was that he felt that the word was upsetting and angering. Without question I would support, and lend my anger to his against the offender. However, I don't understand the power of the word to begin with. Words have no feeling. In my case, being called a retard would cause the same reaction within myself, though I'm unsure why it is just a word. For fear of being associated with those who are mentally retarded? Haha! Well isn't that interesting? I do not want to be judged by the same label I would use to judge another perhaps? Hmmm... I just don't know. I am rather smart, even if I don't sound that way. So why would retard bother me? Well, it is learned. Somewhat similar in idea to Pavlov and his dog. It is a form of conditioning or learned association to a feeling. How does one unlearn it then I wonder? Hmm... More thoughts to add to my research.

Sorry. I got off track. Where were we?

 

[Auron]

I don't use labels. I use details/qualities of a person to describe them. That's not really a label.

I.E; "The really all guy," "The short stocky guy," "The guy in the red shirt over there."

 

[Tactical Panda]

I never really understood the problem of labels to individuals.

If you break someones' perception of you - really shatter it and cast the person into uncertainty - then how can labels hold you back?

Become good enough at it and it begins a fun sort of game where you can hide openly behind a mask another person provides, only to shatter it for a grand, disorienting surprise - even if revealed in an understated manner.

All you need are the unrevealed experiences and abilities to demolish the label. Outrageous and slightly intimidating is a good start - but obvious contradiction is a must. Something to show that the weight of your past is bearing down hard on just how little they know about you.