QuoteIndeed, as are the rest of the human race. I think all of this squabbling over labels is really, really stupid and a huge waste of time. Why not just enjoy life and let all of these labels fall by the wayside? Yeah, I know that it is human nature to label, argue all that jazz. But does it do any of us any good at all? I would say no.
I don't know, from the sounds of it the reason for the need for labels is as varied as the labels and their possible definitions themselves. Some people don't need them - you, for instance Laura, sound perfectly content to not be labelled - while some people - like myself - do find a need for them. I think (and this is *only* a generalisation here) that people who are perhaps more confident in themselves find less of a need for labels than those of us who are less self-confident and just figuring things out. I'm a fairly insecure person, and so coming to the realisation that I might be transgender is not helped any by potential misunderstandings of the various terms - hence this particular thread. I really needed to try to get my head around everything, and the numerous (and incredibly different) responses have, I think, really illustrated
why some people (myself included) get so confused over labels.
Having read all the replies, my idea of what is what has cleared, but I don't think that eliminates - for me - the need to be able to say "yes, I identify as X." Some people may just instinctively *know* things about themselves, and so not find the need for labels, but having been raised in a fairly 'straight' house (open and accepting, but straight. Maybe even beige, or vanilla...), I had never known that what I was feeling was a) not unique, and b) perfectly legitimate, and so finding a 'valid' way to explain it was really a wonderful feeling, and a feeling that I needed to understand - hence the need for lables.
Once I have fully come to grips with all of this, then I may well be able to leave labels behind and go my own way regardless of definitions; however, at this *particular* moment, "stupid and a huge waste of time" as they may be to some
, I find that labels have been really helpful, and will probably continue to be helpful until I am comfortable with who I am (which may take quite a while yet
). For me, it's like George Orwell's
1984:
QuoteThe whole aim of Newspeak is to narrow the range of thought.
QuoteHow could you have a slogan like "freedom is slavery" when the concept of freedom has been abolished?
How can you think about gender identity or explain how you feel when you don't know the words to explain it?
That's how I feel, anyway.
Lutin
