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Are labels important to you?

Discussion in 'Chit Chat' started by dirglenerg, Mar 31, 2015.

  1. dirglenerg

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    I've seen a few people on this site saying that they don't believe in labels.

    To me, finding out what I was through labels helped me a ton, especially with asexuality. I was always sitting on the fence between pansexual and bisexual because I couldn't tell which genders I was attracted to and didn't know which applied to me, and it never quite hit me that I never found anyone sexually attractive until I found out about asexuality. I always knew I never understood when people would talk about seeing a person and wanting to have sex with them, but it's like I never quite thought that finding no gender sexually attractive was possible until I found out about asexuality. That label helped me understand myself a lot better, and I felt relieved for some reason just because I finally had a sexuality I could relate to.
    On my gender, labels don't hold much value to me because I still don't really know what my gender is. Again, I'm sitting on the fence between pangender, genderfluid or agender, but am simply holding onto calling myself agender purely because it was what I 'came out' as, and don't want to do that all over again with another gender now that I understand what I feel a little better.

    TL;DR: Finding my sexuality helped me understand myself a lot, and I loved it. On the other hand, my gender label is still unclear to me and I don't care for it too much.

    So, are labels important to you? Did they help you in any way or do you simply not care for them at all? I'm interested in hearing why they do or don't matter to people.
     
  2. NingyoBroken

    NingyoBroken Guest

    Not one bit, fuck that shit.

    I only changed my orientation on here to make it clear of my sexuality to people who know me since I was calling myself gay. I'll probably change it back to "Fuck labels." soon.
     
  3. Yosia

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    I don't like them. I always feel pressured to have a label stuck on me, which isn't too bad when I say pansexual, however when people start to not understand what certain labels are it just gets complicated so it's easier to live without labels.
     
  4. kindy14

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    only on cans
     
  5. Fallingdown7

    Fallingdown7 Guest

    Considering I'm a rigid kinsey 6 lesbian, I like and need such a label because It's important for me that I am not lumped in with women who like men, and also to find like minded people for solidarity discussions.

    However, for some people that are more fluid, they may find labels confusing and choose not to label themselves. That is fine, but I don't -want- to be lumped in with other sexualities; people are already so confused and hateful to the idea that a woman is not available to men, and to have a term for that makes me feel like I can belong somewhere.
     
  6. ForNarnia

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    In some ways, yes.

    I like knowing that there is a term for the way I feel and I like that.

    I don't like what comes with the label, though. People either don't realise it exists, or think that Pansexuals 'would shag anyone, init?' Some gay girls say they wouldn't date us for the same reason they wouldn't date a Bisexual, and some people hate us because of the idiots on Tumblr :/

    But I like my label. It fits me, and I like it
     
  7. Jinkies

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    To me, yes. Mine are. I spent 3 years finding the best label and trying to make sure it was the right one. I'm not spending my entire life on it.
     
  8. randomly me

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    No but it's nice having a word for it.
     
  9. tulman

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    Not at all. Some are so silly that they're amusing. I know who and what I am and I don't need a label saying so.
     
  10. Alive

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    labels aren't important to me, but more important to other people. people want to lable things to understand them more clearly. it's nice to have a word for who i am though sometimes
     
  11. acciocarrie

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    Yes, they are.
     
  12. timo

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    Nope, not at all. The general idea that I like guys should be enough, it's not necessary to be overly specific.
     
  13. candyjiru

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    I like my label, even though I rarely use it because I am not out to too many people... I was raised in a strict, religious household and I didn't even hear about anything other than straight or gay until I went out on my own... being able to understand that part of myself more clearly and be able to succinctly explain it go others is a big relief.
     
  14. Drednaught

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    Actually, labels are a completely necessary part of Human language. In order to communicate thoughts and ideas we have to label almost everything we are talking about. Without labels language would be impossible. I guess what people are arguing about are not labels, but rather how stereotypes and hidden notions that are sometimes attributed to them which is sadly something that happens quite often. What we should be focusing on is eliminating those stereotypes and hidden assumptions rather than trying to get rid of the label altogether and the best way to do that is with education and awareness. Getting rid of labels completely avoids the problem and actually causes more than what it's trying to fix. I know people have good intentions, but this is not exactly the best way to approach the topic if you want to fix this issue.
     
  15. MotelGuy

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    Yes...It lets people know what I prefer...
     
  16. C P

    C P
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    As you can see from my posts on other threads in regards to this topic, yes, they are important to me.

    You can think they are silly/stupid all you want(this is a general statement, btw), but then I can say the same about your attitude towards us that find importance in them.

    That is all.
     
  17. MojoDojo

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    I find them important, but stressful when you have trouble finding one that fits.
     
  18. Foz

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    I don't want a label, I just want to feel that I fit in and belong somewhere. I just want to be me, I don't want to be 'a gay', I want to be a guy who just happens to like other guys.
     
  19. Aeolia

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    I don't find them important, but I don't mind them either.
     
  20. Kenaria

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    Love who you want to love, or don't for that matter. In my opinion it's no ones business what you're into unless they're into you.