Labels.

ohsoindie · 03-17-2007, 11:44 AM

I've been thinking about the way we label each other in society, and I wanted to know what other people thought about this topic. Maybe it's been done before... but this is my take on it.

Labels have a few purposes.

Firstly, they're a marketing device. I think the music and fashion industry take advantage of youth's need to fit into a certain group, and exploit them with labels like "Emo/Scene, Goth, Preppy"... Labels that relate directly to a marketable product like clothing, jewelry, music, etcetera.

Secondly, labels are used a lot in middle-through-high school. At my high school everyone kind of stuck to their cliques. I was a loner... not alone- I floated between all groups- but I still went through phases where I wished I fit into a specific group.

My question is, do you think these labels are important? Should a person worry about how society is going to label them? Is it easier to identify with one label and stick to it or is it easier to be different? Or has different become a label, too? What do you think?

My view:

I'm an adult. I work, I pay rent. In the real world, the only labels are the obvious ones: Independent, and Dependent. This isn't referring to stereotypes by race, gender, etcetera. After high school, labels don't matter anymore. I don't have time to worry about how other people are looking at me. I dress differently every day. I like a lot of different styles when it comes to clothing and music.

I think if we could toss judgement by appearance right out the window, the world would be a more fair place to live in. I don't see that happening, but I think it's ridiculous to be a 19 year old man and look at a 19 year old girl in a pink shirt and jeans and call her a 'prep'. What if it's laundry day? What if the shirt was a gift? What if she likes industrial gothic and abercrombie at the same time? There's no way to tell just by looking at a person.

Sure people use the way they dress to express themselves... but sometimes they use the way they dress to express someone else, too. People, especially young people, tend to emulate their friends and what they see on television. Not to mention when a trend is really "in" its almost impossible to find something that varies from it in the store. I didn't want a leather belt, so I got a studded one. Does that make me punk, or emo, or goth? No. It means I own a studded belt.

What labels do you see every day? Have you ever been wrong when you judged someone by the way they looked? Has someone ever been wrong about you?

TrippinSmurf · 03-17-2007, 11:46 AM

Most common in my area is wigger and redneck but there like second cousins there very much alike.

eDgE oF iNsAnItY · 03-17-2007, 12:03 PM

Wow... OK, let's see....

Like you said, labels are definitely an important part of marketing. A certain demographic likes a certain type of thing. Skaters are more likely to buy a pair of DC shoes than the hip hop crowd, same as those in the hip hop crowd are more likely to buy nikes than the skater.

In school, I agree that most people stick to their groups. Me personally, I was a skater/thug... but, like you said, I floated between the groups... i guess. i dunno, I could hang out with everyone. Preps, thugs, goths, punks, scrubs, whoever. I try not to judge people by the way they dress. But for the most part they do act in the way that their group is stereotyped. While it is definitely wrong to stereotype, it usually pans out to be true.

As for you saying that after high school, labels do not matter. I disagree. There is always going to be the "clique" that has the most power in the workplace. And if you are not part of this clique then you are not going to be able to advance. I mean, it depends on where you work, I guess, but I've seen it everywhere that I've been. From restaurants, to Walgreens, to the oil change shop, to the military. It's sad, but it's true. Now you may not exactly have to conform to their ways, but life in the workplace is always about people skills. So, if you cannot get along with the "in crowd" you aren't going anywhere.

The labels I see day to day (in the military) are basically shammer (lazy person) and hardworker. Now these are two easy to distinguish labels and for the most part are always accurate. Then off work, it's mainly urban/hip hop and rocker. There really isn't much of an inbetween. Except for me!

I listen to all kinds of music, so I don't know exactly how people view me from the outside. I really don't care, I am pretty easy to get along with and talk to, so I usually get along with everyone around me. Personally, I try not to focus on what "label" a person fits as much as the words that come out of their mouth and the actions they take.

Lucifer · 03-17-2007, 12:08 PM

Actually, I've seen more prevalence of labels in the world since college than I ever did before it. The main purpose for most labels is people needing a semblance of "order" to their own world, so they label others to categorize them in their own minds. Society as a whole is made up more of followers than leaders, and most of the followers quickly adopt the same labels for others that a leader has formulated (hence the common labels such as "goths" and "preppies"). Another purpose of labels is reinforcing self worth... if a person can label others in a manner which is demeaning, it makes them less of a threat while also making the person giving out the label feel better about themselves... sadly enough, a good percentage of society defines their own existence by the actions of others, so they feel the need to belittle those around them to make themselves feel better.

I tend to avoid using most labels... I use the label "sheep" for the majority of the general public that blindly follows, but I have never placed any individual into that category, I prefer to leave it as a nebulous area. When I am describing a person, I try not to use labels like Goth or Black and prefer to actually describe the person (saying they were wearing Goth style clothing or they had a dark complexion). Each person is an individual, placing a label upon them detracts from that individuality; therefore, it is demeaning to give almost ANY label to a person... which is why I prefer to restrict labels to societies as a whole, since they are composed of individuals, but NOT actually an individual.

NachtEngel · 03-17-2007, 05:08 PM

I don't think they are really important but they are often used to define a person. Even if you do judge someone based on style its still not a great way to judge someone. A persons style does not always fit their personality. If someone does use their own style and not that of others to fit in I think a certain style can tell you a lot about a person. If you really evaluate the way a person presents them self it can get deep enough to even tell a story about the person. I know a lot of people are completely against labels but I am going to explain why I use a label for myself. I will start by saying I often hear the argument that people who follow what seems to be a trend are often looked at as trying to fit in. Well, I will inform you I am the only goth I hang out with. Most of my friends could be categorized as preps. So I certainly am not trying to fit in but on the other hand I have found a lifestyle that perfectly fits my personality and the simplest way to describe it would be "goth". If you ask me why I would tell you I simply have a love for darker things when it comes to literature, art, poetry and music. I dress the way I do in order to express my own feelings. If you were to look at me and really evaluate what I wear I think a person could figure out a lot about me but at the same time I do not think that the label "goth" is going to tell you everything. What you really have to look at is how a person ends up fitting into a label. Just because you may fit into one it does not mean you are a mindless zombie following the heard. The term could be used to simplify some very basic things about you but in the long run the label itself does not say a whole lot about you.

03-27-2007, 07:01 AM

I feel labels are something a lot of people seem to need to give themselves, I don't know, a sense of identity. They need to define themselves based on what they like, otherwise they feel that they don't even know what they like. The PROBLEM with labels, though, is that you can't apply them to everyone, or you get some really nasty hybrids, which sort of defeat the purpose of neatly compartmentalizing everyone in the first place.

So, I don't think they work well, but I believe a lot of people do, and who am I to take that away from them? I won't force a label onto someone, but if they self-identify with one, I won't try to stop them.