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Comment by Kye | Hacker News Reader

"I don't label myself" - person who labels self with not labeling self.

Labels are useful for finding community. This becomes more essential the less popular or the more marginalized you or parts of you are.

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You could, in theory, make a label out of not labeling yourself but that isn't what we're talking about.

I can see how labels are useful for finding community. One potential negative of using labels to find a community is that labels can be exclusive. For example, a label like "LGBTQ+" may exclude people who do not identify as part of that community, even if they have similar experiences or interests. This can create a sense of exclusion and may prevent people from finding the support and connection they are looking for.

LGBTQ+ (and variations) are more category than label. We combine our powers because we're all too tiny to deal with all the labels and violence foisted upon us alone. Whether you can choose one of the labels is a matter of debate within the category. For most of us, it's like breathing air for the first time: "oh, I'm not alone in this. Other people feel this way, and they've fought all these battles so I don't have to start from 0." To choose it without that experience is kind of weird, but I don't personally have a problem with it in most cases.

A hundred percent this. I'm not a lesbian, but I'm going to the mat if needed to protect lesbians. We protect us.

LGBTQ+ can be used as a self-imposed label. Why not?

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