Labels

Obviously, I am a very liberal person. I dislike identifying as a christian because of how others tend to lump that into being a part of the "religious right" or part of the conservative political party. And it annoys me to no end when a friend starts using scare quotes to talk about my beliefs. But it is all part of the label system. If I identify with any one thing, a label can and will be applied to me whether I want to use it or not. Then certain assumptions end up being made and are referenced to personal experiences.

Labels are really amazing if you think about it. Some extremely organized people may meticulously label everything; others of us organizationally challenged may be extremely satisfied just to know where our stuff is. I rather like the pile method. There are different piles and I know what each is and where to find things. I don't need to actually label them as I know what is there. However, when I try to explain to another person, then I will have to simplify that pile into one or a few words. It is helpful to simplify which is why labels are so popular. And yet I extremely dislike them. Labels when applied to people usually are used to identify one aspect of their identity as it relates to part of a subgroup of some sort. You can label your sex, gender, relationship status, education, ethnicity, race, socioeconomic status, political affiliation, religious beliefs, sexual identity and so much more. You could label what kind of music, movies, books or food that you like or prefer.

When I was in the 9th or 10th grade I wrote a journal entry all about labels. I was unaware at the time that it would become such a part of my life; my dislike of labels.  We are so much more than our simplifications yet that is how we know people. I very consistently use labels to understand people. I know I put people into categories ... the conservative christian, the socialist atheist, the liberal christian pluralist, or the radical feminist.  At the same time labels may make our lives easier the amount of times that people deviate from their labels makes it more complicating than anything else.

There are many labels people may apply to my life but I always feel like I deviate enough from the norm of that label to null and void its use. The only label that seems to fit regardless is feminist.

However, I suppose a list for myself could go something like ... female, daughter, sister, student, smart, Portuguese, niece, cousin, granddaughter, single, college graduate, white, middle-classed, democrat, feminist, social activist, liberal christian, blogger, photographer, artist, writer, ally.

Are you more than the labels assigned to you? What labels have you applied to others? What labels do you use to simplify yourself?