Originally posted by surferboy@Apr 27 2005, 07:57 AM
But black, we unfortunately live in a society where like, we must be labeled. Be it by sexuality, gender, creed, income. It's just the way we live. A place for everyone, and everyone in their place, yah? I don't agree with it at all, but like, it's the system.
[post=305308]Quoted post[/post]
I agree to a degree. We live in the real world, and categorization (and the judgements that go along with it) are a given. As with Dr.Bubbles deciding to remove those avatar pics--we all know that the reality is that people are going to judge us based on first impressions or our appearance or whatever. It's not right, it's not fair, but it
is.
For example, I think that, many times, I find myself feeling more "goodwill" toward those who use personal pics as avatars here at LPSG. I know it's only because there's a face there to associate with the person, and that doesn't make that person any more "real" or deserving of my respect than anyone else, but it's a reality of human nature, maybe. I decided several years ago to cut my long hair and fit the "accepted" role of the professional. No, it's not fair, but I decided that I was being judged based on that feature and decided to alter it (manipulating my image, really).
It's also a reality that people are marginalized by the labels that they are given and, sometimes, even by those they freely choose. I think that what blackwood was getting at was just the general idea that we are labelled enough without our consent without us playing the same game.
Yeah, I know, that queston is there on the form and you have to check a box (probably)--I live in the real world too. But I think it's good to be reminded by kind outsiders that they, too, know that we can't be easily summed up by a label, even if it's one we self-select. I think he's trying to be supportive and acknowledge your complexity as a human being, not suggest you ignore the question or live in a dream world.
