Posted 8:03 PM by Bonnie

This week from We Have Brains we have the following question:

So I ask you, is it fair to label someone a feminist if they don't claim it? Is it important to label others as feminists, even if they won't march with you at the Feminist Pride Parade? How do you feel when the woman next to you on the bus, in class, at work states, "Oh, I believe I should be paid as much as Dan, but I'm not a feminist!"

I question the labeling of people for the sake of labeling. When we label people what we are doing is grouping them and putting them in little boxes to keep everything neat and orderly. A control thing in a way. Why do we need labels? If someone wants to label themselves a feminist, a racist, a pro-lifer, or anything at all then that is fine. But, for someone else to group people together, including those who would be offended by the label, for the sake of convenience seems a bit lame to me. I for one, would have a hard time defining a label for myself. And truthfully I like it that way. I don't want to be put in a little box with a group of clones. Do I have the same beliefs as others... yes! Do I fight for the same causes? Of course! But there are also areas within the same beliefs, causes, etc where I differ with the others... so to label me or anyone else according to a group they happen to associate with is wrong in my book.