How do people feel about labels? Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual/Transexual/Pansexual/Asexual. Sorry if I have missed anyone out. But do people find these useful or harmful. How do people on here feel about the word homosexual? Also do women on here prefer to identify as Lesbians or gay women? Also how do people feel about the old slang labels?
I get why other people don't like labels (and I totally respect their wishes to not be labelled), but personally I like to be able to easily define myself (and anyone else who is ok with labels).
Hmmm, I don't mind being labelled as gay or homosexual but I really hate that the word "gay" carries such a bad stigma and can be used as an insult.
That is so true when I was at school in 90's it was such insult to call someone gay. There was so many stigma associste with being gay.
I don't really take issue with labels as long as they're self-applied, as in I don't mind what others choose to call themselves so long as they don't force the boxes on others.
Labels are helpful and needed. For example, if you are gay and say "you don't believe in labels", how is anyone supposed to know what you're into? They may assume you like the opposite sex. Using gay as a label is helpful to tell people what we're into and to find like-minded peers. On the other hand, they can sometimes get too complicated when you need to invent a word for every tiny difference. I prefer the word homosexual since It's clinical and to the point. There are no grey areas. I've seen bisexuals identify as gay to be a part of the community, and that can confuse people who might assume actual homosexuals date the opposite sex. Identifying myself as homosexual helps people no there are no gray areas. Either lesbian or gay is fine. I tend to use both.
I know. Even in 2017, at my school students still use the word gay or lesbian as an isult... It is really annoying me.
Don't really care for labels but I use them for convenience sake. You can just say I'm into guys, I'm into girls, whatever. People spend too much time and energy fretting over labels and trying to find one that defines them. We shouldn't be trying to shove ourselves into boxes. I don't have any negative feelings towards the word gay. People can't use it as an insult towards me because yeah, they're right. That's like saying "you're Asian" as an insult, yeah I am, what of it? Gay is definitely becoming a more normalised word.
I think labels are very useful to a certain extent. Labels that are too specific and unknown don't really help convey meaning, and labels that are forced onto people do more harm than good, but having a word or two that describes your orientation/gender can be really helpful in terms of helping other people understand you, helping you understand yourself, and helping you connect to others with similar experiences. Both homosexual and transsexual make me a bit uncomfortable when straight and non-trans people use them because they both feel a bit outdated and medical; when a gay or trans person uses them, it's usually because that's the word they're comfortable with, but when a straight or non-trans person uses them, it's usually because they don't know that those are words that make some people uncomfortable.
I think labels can be helpful sometimes but they're not really necessary all the time. In terms of slang labels, it depends on the word but for the most part I try not to use them.
