Choosing Labels
Ever since I started to think I was queer, I’ve collected labels. I don’t think I’ve ever used less than two. Omni, panromantic, genderflux, quoi, neopronouns, omnine, outherine, yonderine, queer. I could go on. Some may be more widely known than others, and some I just pick up without telling anyone, but what matters to me is that I have them and that I know what they mean. I’m like a crow: I see an identity I like, I take it. For me, this applies more to gender than to sexuality, as I have done more exploration of my gender.
But how do I choose them? I’ve always just liked reading wiki pages and clicking on articles that piqued my interest. When I found the LGBTA wiki, that immediately came into effect. I simply looked up identities I’d heard of and clicked through pages from there. It’s how I found many terms of mine, such as epigender and ampulsian. Another reason I might identify with so many labels is that I don’t feel a strong connection to all of them. All I need in a label is to find some sort of connection to it. If I were to get into technicalities, I would likely be placing demi- in front of some, if not all, of my gender labels. I don’t necessarily identify wholly with every identity I pick up, and for me, that’s okay. For me, the only box a label needs to check is that I connect with it (excluding cultural labels and other ones that I should not appropriate, of course).
Recently, I had someone tell me that they wouldn’t push about labels I used, just continue to use the right pronouns and chill. This means quite a lot to me. I’m so used to justifying every facet of my identity to myself that to hear someone else say that they didn’t need that was foreign to me. If a label made me happy, that was justification enough for them, and they didn’t feel the need to press me about it.
I had not heard of the LGBTA wiki before, but after some research, it looks like a really helpful source! I will be bookmarking that for future use. I definitely resonate with your idea of finding connections to a label. It's sort of hard to identify fully with a random word, because people assign so many different meanings to it.
ReplyDeleteI think you did a great job with this blog post. You mentioned a lot of labels that I've never heard of before and I'm interested in looking them up and learning more about them. I think the final paragraph is a great addition and it carries a very important message. You don't need to fully understand a label someone uses (though you should do some research) to be able to accept them and respect the labels they use especially if those labels change, which they often do.
ReplyDeleteHey Emily! I really liked your post. I had not heard about the LGBTA wiki before this but I took a quick look and it seems very helpful and informative. I also learned a surprising amount for such a short blog, and ended up looking up and learning about quite a few labels. I also love the message your post is sending about accepting, understanding, and supporting people who may not always use the same labels you yourself use. Or people who do not always use the same labels everyday. Overall, a very informative, interesting, and well written post!
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ReplyDeleteI really like your post! I've checked out the LGBTA wiki a few times before, and it has some pretty interesting articles about different labels. As someone who also uses labels as a way of identifying myself, It feels good to have a connection to a label that you feel defines you in some way. I like how label definitions can be flexible depending on the person. However, sometimes two people can have very different definitions for the same label, which is why accepting and respecting people's labels is important.
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