i was gonna be a jackass and post a combination of the words yay and nay, but this topic made me realize there is no way to combine them because their endings are indistinguishable and there arent enough letters to work around that thanks for reading please subscribe
Personally I'm really iffy about labels, they can be good or bad. Yes they can be important in understanding your sexuality and gender and who you are and so forth; some people find huge relief in labels as it helps them understand themselves. Yes they can be important in distinguishing who you are and who other people are in some sense. The problem with labels is that it can become damaging and harmful when they're used as stereotypes, slurs, and so forth. Also when searching for a label to box yourself under (when in reality sometimes it's difficult to find a label that fits 100% no corners cut) causes you major stress, that may also become a problem, especially when there is pressure to varying amounts to find a label to sort of stand under. It really depends at the end of the day. It's pretty situational, labels can be good or bad it just depends on how you see them, how you use them, and what context they're used in.
I feel like, as humans, labels are important to help us organize all the information we receive daily. We just cannot decide every case individually, so we come up with the closest "label" and compartmentalize things. I think the idea that we can do without labels is absurd and idealistic. It's not possible.
I like labels because they can be used to explain yourself to others. Recently one of my very good friends came up with a very weird new gender pronoun (salad!) specifically for my very weird and semi-fluid gender identity (I'm very masculine, but I enjoy completely destroying all gender norms and putting on make-up with a masculine outfit or something similar).
I think labels are definitely useful and important to an extent, but I also think one can be over-reliant on them. For someone like me with anxiety/OCD tendencies, I actually try not to think about labels too much because I can let it get carried away if I do.
I don't really mind for labels but sometimes when you categorize yourself into a certain label/group, stereotypes and generalizations are created. Sometimes it can be exasperating that you are being associated with these stereotypes since it doesn't define you as an individual person. Yeah I don't know if I'm making any sense but that's my feelings toward it.
The world feels a need to label things in order to organise them. Sometimes it makes it easier to figure out where you stand. Sometimes they're too restrictive and force people to conform in order to fit into a label.
Asking whether you love or hate labels is like asking whether you love or hate screwdrivers: no, they don't do anything for me in and of themselves...until I need one to serve a purpose...then they are indispensable.
