yes, this is exactly what I had in mind. Which is why I was asking lilairen what exactly she meant. at first, her post seemed to be saying that people should label themselves. Then it seemed that she was talking about people who use "I don't label people" to avoid describing people in ways those people want to be described, or use it to dismiss people who say, "Well, you're an X and do things that way and expect others to as well, but I'm a Y so it's important that I do things this way instead," which I see as a completely different matter that has to do with whether or not you respect someone.
Then there are sociopolitical issues like a white person saying "do you really need to orient your life around being black?" which are actually about erasing other identities. Or, even worse, using a concept like "No one is really 'trans'" to try and argue that the way someone lives her life and experiences her reality is fundamentally wrong.
And it seems like those are the things the post is actually about, in which case I agree with it completely.
But if it had been about whether people accept labels that others would use for them, then I think there's something to be said for handy nouns and adjectives,but also something to be said for having lengthy conversations that some people avoid by using one word instead, assuming that that word fully explains what a person is like or is doing. (Eg, since FetLife was mentioned: "I am a switch." Okay, well, if the question is "do you both beat people and get beat?" I don't need more information. But if I don't know whether the person is talking D/s or SM, or don't know whether the person evenly splits between whatever two things he means, his answer may be an adjective where I needed a paragraph. Hence, one meaning of "Labels are limiting.")
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Date: 2010-03-07 02:41 am (UTC)Then there are sociopolitical issues like a white person saying "do you really need to orient your life around being black?" which are actually about erasing other identities. Or, even worse, using a concept like "No one is really 'trans'" to try and argue that the way someone lives her life and experiences her reality is fundamentally wrong.
And it seems like those are the things the post is actually about, in which case I agree with it completely.
But if it had been about whether people accept labels that others would use for them, then I think there's something to be said for handy nouns and adjectives,but also something to be said for having lengthy conversations that some people avoid by using one word instead, assuming that that word fully explains what a person is like or is doing. (Eg, since FetLife was mentioned: "I am a switch." Okay, well, if the question is "do you both beat people and get beat?" I don't need more information. But if I don't know whether the person is talking D/s or SM, or don't know whether the person evenly splits between whatever two things he means, his answer may be an adjective where I needed a paragraph. Hence, one meaning of "Labels are limiting.")