Don't let one word define who you are. Labels don't have to create you or make you believe that you need to act or be something you are not. Growing up, I continuously witness what society has intended for us, creating a general one word to define certain individuals. I want out of labels. I want out of a society that categorizes people for their race, gender, sexual preference or culture. It all classifies you and will follow you for the rest of your life. I don't want my whole life being defined by just one word. I don't want my life to feel like I need to follow my label, that I can't venture away from it and truly create the unique individual that I am.
Society not only labels us, but it creates the perception others view of us and undoubtedly creates a sense of blind prejudice. It states who we are and what we are, and foremost makes people view us like that or this. Labels are for things, for individuals to place a category on items, but we are not items. We are humans that think, love and act to what makes us happy as individuals. We can't continue to let one-word category words describe who we are — we need to stop calling people for what society has shown us to call them.
Not only does it affect the person being labeled, but it affects the way others step up and stop labeling. Labeling individuals for their sexuality, political standpoint, or even their socioeconomic situation has infiltrated the way we perceive equality and justice. Sexism has rooted itself in labeling, in telling women, and even men, what they can do and what they can't. A man needs to work, a woman needs to tend the house. These are all just labels that create a sense of what needs to be expected from individuals, and the worst part of it all is that we usually tend to fall into our labels. We tend to forget that we are unique, that we can break away from what society intends from us and become our own selves.
The movement against labels finds its roots in bigger movements as Black Lives Matter or in Love is Love. What few understand is that we are all human, we are all equals and no matter where we come from, what color our skin is or who we love doesn't define the rights we deserve or the way we are treated. We need to stand against labels. We need to stop expecting from people certain things that society has made us to expect. We need to escape the clutches of the infamous plague and begin to view each other as equals.
We all deserve the same rights, the same respect and the same love. Labels don't make laws. Labels shouldn't tell us that no two men or two women can marry. The right to marry is a human right, a right that is based on the foundation of love, not labels. This is something that has affected millions as things in society begin getting labeled just because they are different than the majority. We all deserve a chance to speak out. Who says that the skin color of someone makes them a thief, a murderer, a rapist? Who says that women can't speak out against injustice in their jobs or allow them to excel in their careers just because they are women? All these things are said by us. They are created by society because society says it. Society labels it. Society creates that sphere of insults, racism, and fear of acceptance.
Slowly, humanity is changing. Humanity is beginning to take a turn for the best and fight against oppression, fight against labels and fight against inequality. Humanity has taken notice of the dangerous parasite infesting our communities and our minds. It is up to us to destroy the shadow that haunts every single one of us. It is up to us to focus on what truly is important and break free from the chains that hold us back. Society stands as a wall, separating individuals just because they are different. It is time we come in like a wrecking ball and demolish those walls, joining everyone because we are all one and the same. We all deserve the same rights, no matter the labels we are stamped. We are all humans, and we deserve to be treated as equals in a world that is being led by labels. I don't want my life to be labeled. I don't want to be kept in the shadows or outcast for who I am. Labels don't define my life, and they shouldn't define yours.
