People who refuse to label themselves?

I believe that people who are reluctant to describe themselves by using common labels are really people who are ashamed and worry about the social consequences of that label.





I have seen posts all over the net... and even in real life... people say, "well, Id hate to generalize" or "If you absolutely NEED to apply a label"...





I think to myself... "its just a word" Words have meanings. Those meanings are inherent to the word. That is what communication is founded on.





People who argue against using a label to describe themselves for what they are... are people who dont like the idea of being what they are.





People use labels all the time... that is how they manage to communicate... that is how they can use language. Its only certain words... arbitrarily picked by them... that they are reluctant to use... that prompt their argument "against the use of labels"

People who refuse to label themselves?
I fully agree with you.
Reply:What people do is they rationalize their own bigotry. I find that a lot of people take dichotomies and turn them into arbitrary spectra, where their self-proclaimed position in that spectrum counters/negates the label of the dichotomy. Report It

Reply:Or, the other way around, people take spectra and turn them into a dichotomy, where their position in the spectrum that would appear negative can be made vague by the dichotomy label Report It

Reply:Instead of being immoral or moral, objectively... they say they are moral people on account that they are "mostly moral"... or moral by "their standards" Report It

Reply:I refused to be labelled. I am way too many things to describe myself properly with a few words. I do not know myself well, and neither does society. I refuse to contain myself to society's perception of me and so bite me if you do not like the way I think or the way I go about things.
Reply:I don't think it's shame or fear, Nick, i think it has more to do with preferring not to become part of something that is deeply hypocritical.





You're supposed to label inanimate objects, not people.





If people do eventually get used to labelling each other, then i believe we'll probably start treating each other as if they were products to be brought or sold via a means of currency, as opposed to actual people who have minds of their own.





p.s: Did it occur to you that you didn't want to understand other people's reasoning because they might be right?
Reply:Bullsh*t! It's not about us refusing to label ourselves. It's about not wanting to be labeled by society or by the mainstream or by anyone else. Or just not wanting to be labeled period. It's about wanting to be accepted as an INDIVIDUAL.





I'm black. I'm female. I'm short. I'm skinny. Those aren't "labels"; those are descriptive statements of fact. They have nothing to do with WHO I AM.





Your argument is weak and insubstantial and it sounds like an excuse for you to generalize, stereotype, or just be a control freak.
Reply:I agree with "The Stell". People don't like being labeled or generalized because no two people are alike. If we continue to accept labels, we will always pre-judge based on the connotations of that label, be it negative or positive. We're not sheep, we're a world of different people with different personalities, different aspirations and different values (although a lot of people adhere to the same basic ones). I'm a middle-classed, educated black male; does that mean I'm exactly like ALL middle-classed, educated black males?
Reply:I suppose that some one could try to stick a label on me. It wouldn't stay though! I just can't find the right label and why would I want to? I think that we should all do out best to harbor some uniqueness in ourselves. I just have too many varied interests to be put into a category. If you're going to label me something let it be something positive! I hate stereotypes and their connotations. There are very few positive stereotypes. I try not to label people but unconsciously I do so anyway. It can become difficult to distinguish the misconceptions from reality sometimes!


I could try to call myself a nerd ( for an example) but all the real nerds would realize that I'm not. Maybe sometimes I'm just "ish" in some areas. Many of us us are. If we all fit into categories life would be boring. I'll take the rainforest rather than paved paradise. Diversity?