Labels

I think their alright. I just hate how labels are used to categorize people and how society wants everybody to fit nicely into their boxes.

 

I think that there are pros and cons to labels. They are an easy way to explain to others how you identity, but they create a nice little box that people feel that they need to fit into as well. Also, there are some labels that people within the LGBT community know what they mean, but nobody else does. So, this creates confusion..

I usually politely ask how the person identifies and what pronouns that they prefer if I think that there is a chance of them going by different pronouns.

 

Not sure, I kinda OCD about them...

 

I personally like labels. I like the sense of identity from the most specific labels. I like how I can fit under many labels at the same time. For essentially the same reason, I like assigning labels to others, though I don't tell anyone or talk about it. It really comes down to "this is a felt pen" versus "this is an object in my house with various functions", which tells me nothing.

 

confusing. i'm still googling terms i've never heard before. when i first started learning about lgbt it was gay, lesbian, bi & tranny. the only trans i heard about was mtf. somebody should write a dictionary for us oldsters.

 

I don't mind for the simple fact that sometimes its just an easier way to explain yourself but never really fit in particular one. I consider them to just be a generalization not necessarily so black and white at times.

 

I hate labels.

 

As i say before~

Labels are for food!!


They are somewhat helpful but i feel apart from others when we are put into our seperate cans with labels on >.<

 

I hate the pressure to choose a label, but at the same time, i think it feels kind of nice to be under one. I don't necessarily feel comfortable with only identifying as certain things though, I'd rather just be myself.

 

I don't mind labels, specifically since they can connect people with similar ones (like "Whovians," "Transwomen," "Bisexuals") and that can certainly help when you need advice or want someone like yourself to talk to. Labels also give a lot of people a sense of security and comfort.

Others find them restrictive and segregative, but I personally have found them to be nothing but helpful for me in discovering myself. Certainly people, specifically their gender and sexuality, are likelier more fluid than their label, but a lot of times the label helps provide a foundation on which the person can feel comfortable while finding out who they are.

That said, I am very uncomfortable with labeling others. I have so many times seen bi-erasure because people were quick to label someone as gay, as well as other identities, because of it.

 

Labels help people find an identity and explore who they are with a little comfort knowing that they're not alone. Labels are good, but they musn't be restrictive.

We need a lot of labels, otherwise we get a very shallow understanding of sexuality and exclude a lot of people, which is why I get furious with (usually gay but sometimes bi) LGBT people who say that gay/bi/straight and cis/trans and male/female are the only necessary labels and everything else is "special snowflaking." (which is never used in a positive light and is degrading and not something that should ever be said about someone finding their sexuality)

"Labels" seems to be a deliberately negative word to discourage it, anyway. What is in terms of sexuality called "labelling" is just called "naming" in every other part of life.

 

If they are in a regular dictionary, I'm okay with them. Beyond that, I find that they lose their use. What's the point of a label if it isn't understood by most people? Or if its meaning is 90% the same as that of a similar label?

Just my $0.02.

 

I like labels. It's easier than giving a whole paragraph to explain what you're like.

 

Obviously it would be wonderful if everyone would ask, and accept, what "labels" someone uses for themselves. And really, labels aren't very useful if the general public have no clue. I've tentatively accepted that I might be pansexual, but I can probably count on one hand the number of people in this town that even know what that means.

 

To everone saying that if people don't know the term there's no point in identifying as it: A hell of a lot of people don't know Tajikistan or Liechtenstein exist, but that doesn't mean that the Tajik and Liechtensteiner people aren't real or that it's pointless to identify as such. An identity is true whether or not people know about it, and words become more common by actually being used, which will make them more common.

 

It's human nature to label things. And people. It's an undeniable fact. What is important is not assigning them to others, or saying that a label you don't like/understand doesn't exist.

 

I think labels are a great way to explain things about yourself to others, but shouldn't be used to much more than coming out.

 

As long as labels are being used to help a person express themselves and how they feel about their different beliefs and not make them feel judged and restricted, then I am fine with them. People need to be educated on the meanings of different labels, because the biggest danger with labels, as with most things, is ignorance.