Labling is Important

We talk about labels like they’re a bad thing. I think we need them, we just need to stop being so overreaching with them.

We need labels because they communicate concepts about a person. For instance, if a person has depression or ADHD, they need their label so that they can get access to the services they need quickly and easily. Or, if you are mostly attracted to one sex you should be able to “own” a word to describe it. Using labels like that helps people who are otherwise marginalized find communities and support.

However, we need to understand that just because a person fits into one category, they don’t fit into all categories associated with it. For instance, while all geology majors are also science majors, STEM majors, and university students, not all science majors are geologists, and the same goes for STEM majors and university students. Also, if a person is a geology major, it should not be assumed that they have rugged beards and enjoy off-road biking. Stereotyping like that doesn’t do much good, and not only hurts the people who are stereotyped, it also hurts the people who are realigning on stereotypes to judge people. The worst criminals use stereotypes to get away with crimes by intentionally cultivating personas that people assume are trust worthy.

As someone who has Asperger’s syndrome I do not appreciate people expecting me to preform “party tricks” like recalling random information about a topic they think I should know a lot about. I also do not have magically perfect grades, and I do not enjoy being used as an information bank because I have things I need to do and they can learn to use an (EXPLICATIVE) search engine. I suppose this is parallel to the “gay men are good at fashion” stereotype, as while they’re not directly related they’re both aggravating experiences of being forced by the people around you to play a role you aren’t good at.

People need to be able to have sets of labels, like people have sets of traits. And we need to, as a society, try to work out how we want to use labels.