My apologies to my friends who have already had to listen to me rant on the subject.
I almost feel as though I am beginning a very, very bad Jerry Seinfield segment. "What's the big idea with labels?!" (You must always have a question mark and an exclamation point for Jerry Seinfeld. It's just how he speaks.)
This seems to be a prevalent theme in my life as of lately. Everyone always asking questions, wanting you to define certain aspects of yourself. Democrat, Republican, Christian, Atheist, Gay, Straight, Femme, Butch, Masculine. Blah, blah, blah is what I say to you. I realize how very mature I am, thank you for noticing.
I just don't understand the need for everyone to fit into a certain category. It makes me people nervous when you refuse to label yourself, and when it comes down to it, they will happily apply whatever label they want. Heartily and without your consent.
While this applies to my situation currently (which I shall not be divulging the specifics 0f) I think it happens on a much broader spectrum. People from mixed backgrounds are often questioned on how they identify (White? Black? Hispanic?) and people of certain beliefs are so quick to classify "You don't agree with me? You must be a heathen"
Seriously people, I don't get what the big idea is. If you're happy, safe and healthy who really cares what category you fit into?!
2 comments:
i thought your post was going to say that you bought a labelmaker! and i was excited!
but I agree that labeling gets tiresome. I think that sometimes it can be helpful though.
in any case, i think everyone would be good to follow the golden rule of labels in the gender-variant community. never assume, let people self-identify, and don't question their self-identification.
everyone has a label; yours is carol. but if you decide to change it, may i recommend smooshybear?
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