Life, when you think about it, has been pushed and stuffed into various boxes with different labels and sub labels. They make things organized. Neat. Aesthetically pleasing and easy to understand. But, what does this do to those who don't fit that box? It's more than just how this makes the outliers feel but how they experience the world around them.
There are so many ways to identify as a person: Female, Male, LGBT+, Straight, Caucasian, Asian, Native American, a cat person, dog person, democrat, republican - the list goes on and on. Some categories are preference, some are naturalized and some are a combination. We are asked to choose these as we mature and we are looked down upon when things change or when we discover something new.
I spent the last couple of days binge watching the latest season of RuPaul's Drag Race. Haha, now that took quite a turn didn't it? The program was absolutely the most hilarious, dramatic and different televised competition I ever had the pleasure of viewing. I found myself screaming at the TV, relishing in the tea spilt, tempted to buy a sewing machine on Amazon. The artistry and bravado it takes to become so invested in the art of drag is inspiring. The show celebrates their differences and gave them a chance to shine in their own way. It brought me through the stories of each competitor; how they came out to their family, their daily struggle to get through life, etc. My favorite part was that at the end of each episode it ended with the phrase, "If you can't love yourself, how in the hell are you going to love someone else? Can I get an amen? *cue dance party*" Now, I am not saying that drag is a personal interest, just that the show made me as an audience member, not just simply want to accept my differences in every aspect but to honor them just as much.
In a day in age where a simple status post can reach the other side of the world in a matter of seconds, I believe that to be a major contributing problem. With so much new information and perspectives heard around the world, it is overwhelming to consider the vast amount of irregularities so they are put into a box. A box in which you can overgeneralize and therefore display ignorance, intentional or not, to different types of personalities.
The point of this article is not to persuade complete label disregardment, but to accentuate that everyone is as unique as a fingerprint. With each new individual we have much more to contribute, strength to draw from, experiences to learn from. And lastly, if you find yourself feeling alone in your own eccentricity don't hide it. Embrace it, and you will find your family.
Challenge: Post a status/picture/video with the hashtag, #CelebrateYourDistinction. Do something out of the ordinary, or share an idiosyncrasy that you never thought to acknowledge! Find your niche, and break the boundaries. I want you to get weird, ya'll!
Until next week fellow peculiars,
Shawn Spencer
