For some odd reason, people like to put themselves and others into categories. They do so by making up labels. From these labels come stereotypes and prejudices. These stereotypes even center around race issues. Instead of ignoring the differences, people decide to divide themselves. Doing this only makes the prejudices and stereotyping worse in an already tense relationship. If I am black, I must be sketchy. If I am white, I must be racist. There have been plenty of instances where those labels have been switched as well. These are the more intense and dangerous aspects of labeling. Fights are started over these divisions and senses of categorical separation.
The same thing happens to every possible physical aspect of a person. “I am a woman so I know how to cook” or, “I am a man and I think women are dumb." These ideas are what helped bring feminism to life. Also, this way of thinking brought on extreme forms of feminism that blatantly and repeatedly state that they want to kill men. Freaky! People even divide themselves based on height. Those who are height challenged shouldn’t be put down because they can’t reach ridiculously high shelves. Shorter people can actually bend down to the bottom shelves; tall people can’t without intense squatting or even sitting on the ground.
These labels can make us feel terrible about ourselves. They aren’t used in a way to divide people into other groups but to simply separate one or two people from the group. These are body labels that cause prejudice from others and from ourselves. “I am fat, thus I am worthless” or, “I am skinny, I need to binge." There are more ways to look at those labels but they are the root of what cause anorexia, bulimia, and other eating disorders. Heredity plays a big part into how weight is handled on your body. Some people can do intense exercise and never lose a pound. Others can eat constantly and never gain a pound. People are different and that’s okay. Nobody’s weight should ever be laughed at or made fun of.
What is interesting about these categories and labels is that they are produced in response to things about ourselves that we can’t change. I can’t change the fact that I was born a white female. I was born with broad shoulders and, due to my genes, I am tall. My metabolism is slower and so, I put on more weight. Everyone is different and we should embrace these variations instead of bringing people down by them and causing issues that weren’t there to begin with. Labels are for losers. We are who we are and our opinions of our bodies should be the only opinion that matters. Lastly, just because someone looks different from you on the outside, that doesn’t mean that they are any different from you on the inside. Prejudices can be fought, and labels can be defeated!
