How do you feel about labels ?

To each person, a label is only as useful as the extent it helps the person who is using it. Once it starts being limiting to the person's identity, and compromising parts of them- perhaps in their attempt to have to fit into every corner of the peg- that is when labels may become a problem rather than a source of self-identification and perhaps comfort.

Labels can be good- they can help you understand yourself, are a way to communicate parts of your identity concisely to others, they can also be a grounding point for your identity.

However you don't necessarily need labels for any of the above, you can be fully self-aware, able to articulate your identity, and be completely confident in it without putting a label on anything. Labels can also be damaging- they can limit people, they can be stigmatizing, they can cause pressure when you try to fit into and/or fight pre-conceived ideas and notions about such label, and there is always the issue of stereotypes. Sometimes people can agonize too much over labels at first and that can cause anxiety in the inability to totally define yourself, or fit into a label you think you should be in. Inititally, labels can actually be quite limiting to one's perspective of themselves because it isn't always as simple as it seems to be sometimes.

In general, it all depends on how they are used, in terms of others and also in terms of self identification. If we step out of labels being a personal thing, and look at labels put onto people in society, there can easily be issues there in terms of stigmatization, stereotypes, and oversimplifying a person's identity. After all, everyone who fits under one label aren't spitting copies of each other. Even those who identify as the same orientation wise probably feel attraction in different ways and act on them in different ways-even if they do fit into that same umbrella.

If labels aren't for you, and you'd rather not use one, then don't do so. If you do like having a label for your identity, then by all means.

 

Labels are useful and the only bad thing about them is that there may be social stigma attached to some of them.

Honestly, without labels, the world would be a very confusing place. This does not mean that you personally have to pressure yourself into labelling yourself, but it does make life easier to have labels.

 

Labels are useful to find out how much something costs...

Gender/sexuallity labels are good because it gives somebody a fairly good idea if who you are and what you like, but of course, not everybody will fit perfectly into these boxes, so it's understandable why people dislike them. They're just easy to use and fairly universal.

 

I honestly don't know what I feel about them, I just know I label myself a lot.

 

I don't really like them. The only time I said I was "bi" to someone (using the label) was to my mum so that she would understand better... She thinks people are strictly either straight or gay so when I tried to explain my sexuality without the label she couldn't understand it.

 

Labels aren't law. They represent a person's 'interpretation' of what they are, instead of what they actually are, or they can even be a completely fake identity made up by the person because they like the way it sounds. There's no way for me or anyone to understand the intricacies of sexual orientation and how it manifests in different ways in other people, because there isn't a concrete scientific explanation for it. I just have to take your word for it when you tell me you're agender demiromantic pansexual and naturally I can't do that without a small amount of skepticism. With that said, labels are useful, as long as you don't take them too seriously, if you really are concerned with the exact details of your identity, which I personally, am not, so for me, labels have no real purpose. I don't care if I can or can't describe exactly what I am to others because I don't see why it matters so long as I know what I like. That's why if you look in my gender and sexual identity stuff you'll see a bunch of random bullshit that means nothing.

 

I feel like labels really aren't all that important. For me personally, I use the Kinsey Scale as a reference for sexuality. If labels were just eliminated from the world altogether, there would probably be a lot less discrimination. The other part of it is that I feel that just the labels can be wrong in expressing who someone is fully. For example, it seems like bisexuality is viewed as completely equal attraction to both genders. However, even though that is part of it, it can also be a 1% attraction to men and a 99% attraction to women, or the other way around. Another part to that is just the stereotypes of how certain people act based on their label. If it's easier for someone to know who they are by choosing a definite label for themselves, then that's awesome that it is helping them out with who they are. In the end, I think it's purely a matter of opinion on labels. No one should discriminate or believe firmly in stereotypes in regards to labels.

 

50/50. Some days I find them useful and other times I feel like living up to the standards of a label is a losing battle of self-destruction that causes more pain than comfort.

 

My chosen label is very important to me at this time in my life. After being either confused or in denial for so long it is a relief to be able to put a name to this.

I also appreciate other's chosen label. For those of us who are interested they can be a nice conversation starter.

 

I feel they are quite important.

 

I feel that labels help us to more fully understand who we are and make it easier to explain who we are to other people.

 

It can get too excessive and unnecessary.

 

Handy things. I know that when I've found labels that fit me I've felt a lot less like a freak.

 

I like them.

 

I do feel labels are important in helping to identify a person and to yourself and honestly that's the only thing what labels are made of but seeing as which that is my POV in the use of a label, it's different for others. I do think that labels are seen as a "guide" in helping you understand what that person is and not fully define them as a whole because labels are only meant to help you what and what not to say when trying to converse with the other party.

 

If they work for you or for the people you are labeling, they can be ok.
If they don't work for you or for the people you are labeling, then they are NOT ok.

I use them, along with acronyms and nicknames, and most of my friends roll with them. Most people who don't like them either aren't my friends or they just don't get me.

 

Personally, I like and prefer labels. Just makes things easier because you know exactly what the person's attractions and interests are.

And regarding people who ask if they're a real _________; if they could call themselves ________; etc.; perhaps labels are important to them too, and they want a word or terminology to describe their attractions accurately? Or they're going through a questioning phase, and want to know if it'd be ok to identify as _________ whilst they're figuring things out. There could be many reasons for someone to ask those questions, and all we could do is try and guide them and support them in their journey. We've all been there at some point.