Post by chiqui on Apr 5, 2019 11:52:15 GMT -4
The label conversation is fascinating to me because I deal with college age kids in my job and we had a training about gender identity. I've never felt so old and out of touch. There are all these new categories, and there are people who are opting not to be put in any of them.
Now I know how my dad felt back in the day when I tried to explain east coast vs west coast rap.
Now I know how my dad felt back in the day when I tried to explain east coast vs west coast rap.
I don't know the difference. The artists are different, and there's a rivalry, but I can't tell from the music itself.
Going back into the use of label -- to label, or name, something is to know it, so it isn't so frightening and mysterious. The kids want to be known. They want others to accept what and who they are. They think a label is shorthand for that -- one or two words to give their whole being, their identity. Perhaps it's a consequence of internet use, where a limited medium -- words on a screen -- expresses that. But, it's an illusion. There is no shorthand to truly know someone. That takes work, time, many exchanges, shared experiences.
I also think the gender stuff is a way to deal with sexuality which these days can be messy and conflicting. There are many choices. If you name something, it's not so threatening and creates limits which can be comforting. And also a means for discussing it in an abstracted way that is not personal and thus embarassing.
It's also a way of taking control of one's sexuality. In the aftermath of the free-lovin' 1960s and the even more so 1970s, young people were "expected" to be out and wild. Think of the movies Animal House and all the Porky's knockoffs. If you abstained for any reason, you were a weirdo, a loser, an inexperienced virgin. The ripple effect is still here. Remember in the horrible 50 Shades of Gray book how Christian got his panties in a bunch because Anastasia Steele was a virgin?
But to come out and say I'm aro, I'm ace, gives a socially accepted excuse not to give in and put out. Because it's grouped in with scientific stuff and queer rights stuff, and how dare a rejected partner argue with it?
So I salute it even while knowing the fad will likely die down or out.
