As William Shakespeare wrote in Romeo and Juliet, "What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet." Labels have become an increasingly problematic part of our lives. They used to just be simple descriptors that would help an individual stand out from the rest of the world, but here lately they seem to have taken control of our lives. Even worse, labels that people used to wear proudly have been tarnished by people who misappropriated the meaning of them.
I hate labels. If I were to talk about my political and religious views, you would probably come up with a few things that you can label me as. The three main ones, I suppose, would be feminist, Christian, and liberal. You can call me these things all you like, but they will never come out of my mouth as a way of describing who I am for a few reasons.
I will vehemently defend women's rights but I will not call myself a feminist. I believe in God but I will not call myself a Christian. I share many of their political ideas but I will not call myself a liberal. I don't call myself these things because I am tired of the hypocrisy in each label. I have seen feminists talk about male suicide rates vs female suicide rates as a "gender gap they don't want to close." I have seen Christians talk about loving their neighbor and in the same breath hate on the LGBT+ community. I have seen liberals in response to Trump winning the presidential election hold up signs advocating for the rape of Melania.
I do not want to be a part of these labels and therefore I will not define myself as such. Other people can call me what they wish but if I am ever questioned I will never use these go-to words to describe myself or my views.
As someone who struggles with several mental health issues, labels for me can take a sinister turn. I have something known as Schizotypal Personality Disorder. Having this puts me on the Schizophrenic Spectrum (most mental illnesses have a spectrum of severity), so while rather low on the spectrum (less severe) I still have to deal with a lot of stigmas that come with having this disorder. I will be labeled as insane, unstable, crazy, psycho, or schizo because I will be judged by my disorder. Many of mental illnesses have to overcome countless numbers of harsh labels that people stick on them because they refuse to understand mental illness.
Imagine a world without labels. A world where a child will no longer be automatically labeled as stupid because they are not very good at math even though they excel at other subjects. A world where someone isn't automatically labeled a failure just because they don't stack up to society's expectations. A world where we are not constantly divided by our labels.
That is the kind of world I want to live in.
