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Comment by gardenhedge | Hacker News Reader

If everyone's default state is unlabled, then no, not labeling yourself isn't a label.

It's not, though. You're given all kinds of labels as you go through life whether you want it or not. If you don't act on that, you're accepting the defaults. That doesn't mean there are no labels on you.

No, not everyone is labeled by default. Labels are used to describe or identify a person or group, and not everyone uses or identifies with labels. Some people may choose to use labels to describe themselves or their experiences, while others may not feel that any existing labels accurately reflect who they are. It is ultimately up to each individual to decide whether or not they want to use labels to describe themselves or their experiences.

Everyone is labeled by default. Unless you weren't assigned a gender at birth, don't have a skin color, don't have sexual preferences, didn't have an economic situation you grew up in, didn't have a family with either single parents or multiple payments, etc etc

Labels can be both self-imposed and given. A self-imposed label is one that a person chooses to use to describe themselves or their experiences. For example, someone might choose to use the label "vegan" to describe their dietary habits because they feel that it accurately reflects their values and beliefs. On the other hand, a given label is one that is applied to a person or group by someone else. For example, a teacher might use the label "gifted" to describe a student who excels in a particular subject. In this case, the label is not chosen by the student, but is applied to them by the teacher.

You're missing the point of the article by discussing given labels.

I use the label queer as a self selected one. (Not self imposed, it's not an impression.)

Queer is not the same as LGBTQ+ (queer is more overly political). My identity is both given and self selected.

>> "No, not everyone is labeled by default."

Boy, girl, man, woman. Success, failure, virgin, slut, ice queen. Creep.

I'm sure you've labeled others with at least one and possibly been labeled with one you weren't happy about that didn't fit your identity. There are so many more and you use them without thinking.

You've taken this discussion off course by discussing given labels.

If you decide to self label as a 'creep' or 'success' then it's relevant to this thread's discussion. If people just decide to label you as a 'creep' or 'success' then it's not relevant.

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