Labels. It’s human nature to label everything and everyone we see. Even from a young age, we are taught distinct labels. We see someone in a dress and we label that person is a girl. We see a boy and a girl together and we label them as a couple. Though these can definitely be false, we still label them exactly how society teaches us to see it. Whenever we label something wrong, we are quickly corrected. This may be a silly example, but I have a bunny. I was told she was a female, but I found out a few months later that she biologically is a male rabbit. I still call her a girl, though, because that is what I always labeled her as. It throws people way off to find out that she is actually a he. Friends try to correct me when I call her a girl by saying “you mean him”. This isn’t their fault thought, because they were taught they boys are boys and girls are girls and that labels can’t be mixed or changed. This stigma needs to be stopped.

Correspondingly, we are taught to label ourselves. I used to label myself as straight because I thought this was the label I was supposed to have. This assumption was based on other labels I had given myself. I thought that because I like the color prink and I wear dresses, there is no way I could ever be gay. Now, I label myself as a female, who is a lesbian, but also feminine. This label can confuse people, as do some labels do. They see a girl with straight hair, wearing feminine clothing, and that likes the color pink and they think, “she can’t be gay…she likes pink!” My sexual preference shouldn’t and isn’t defined by other labels.

Why do we define and label ourselves the way we do? Even toys for children are labeled so distinctly. Often times, girl toys are pink and boy toys are blue. Trucks are for boys and Barbie dolls are for girls. Skateboards are for boys and craft kits are for girls. See? These are labels you already knew, but didn’t necessarily think of. This is because it is second nature to gravitate towards our “gender” idem. If a boy wants a baby doll, he should not feel as if he is doing something wrong by wanting, what society tells him, is a girl’s toy. Why are these labels overtaking our lives? We shouldn’t have to label ourselves so much. We shouldn’t have to worry about what others think of the labels we give ourselves, or if we don’t want any labels attached to us at all.