christinathena:

ad-mirandam:

telegantmess:

have likely never felt the flood of relief that there is a WORD FOR WHAT YOU ARE after spending years wondering if you were broken, what was wrong with you, feeling ridiculously isolated and having other people complain about things you can’t change about yourself. If there’s a word for it, that makes it a real thing.

Knowing that I am real, that I am not alone, has done so much more for me than this idea that homogenizing everyone by refusing to recognize our differences is supposed to. I felt invisible and/or mocked for most of my life by people who thought we should all just be “people.” Why in the world would anyone think that could be a good thing for me now?

“Why does everyone need a label, GAWD!?” is code for “I haven’t given myself and who I am much thought, and the fact that you have, and have had to, upsets me. So stop it and be more like me, dammit!”

this to the point of tears

And knowing how other people handle similar issues to yours helps immensely.

All this, especially that last post. People argue that all labels do is divide us, but sometimes division can be really helpful. If I can put people into little groups by different experiences they’ve gone through, it makes it easier to find people who have gone through some of the things I have and talk to them about something they understand on the same level that I do. That keeps me from feeling isolated and does more to integrate me into the people around me and society as a whole than just pretending that the differences between me and other people have absolutely no effect on my life. 

Furthermore, when people use the, “why do we need labels? We’re all just people.” argument, they’re creating a false dichotomy that does us no favors. It promotes this idea that we can’t have both division and unity. Yes, we are all people, but we are all different people as well. Acknowledging that fact doesn’t have to mean that we are people of different value or worth. It just means we’re different, and we’re talking about those differences in a clear and organized manner. Just because I label myself doesn’t mean I can’t feel a sense of fellowship, empathy, and love towards people who don’t fit under those labels. And if that’s something others can’t do, ignoring the labels isn’t going to help. 

Now, I’m not saying everybody does have to label themselves. There are some people who ARE different, who have felt broken or isolated, and have come to the conclusion that labels are just not for them, and that’s perfectly fine. There are plenty of valid reasons not to want to label yourself. But just because that works for some people doesn’t mean it works for everyone. 

(via anderchangster)