whose side I would have taken in the Riots,
the earth would be a ball of flame and we'd wander lost in our lust to label everything
we see because for every sort of people you think I might be,
they all know they're not in me
and all I hear are voices in my head still asking questions that don't move me anymore." (421)
Racial labeling?
There is something bothersome about labels. THey are just so black and white, so final, so... absolute. And the problem with applying them to humans is that humans just never fit the categories that the labels try to organize them into. Labels seem more like a human attempt to organize the world, but what is the point? I think they seem to end up just complicating matters such as, well, life, and the concept of figuring oneself out much more than necessary. I identified with a lot of these readings because my culture is very similar to those of the writers. But what intrigued me most was the experience of biracial Americans. Not only were they foreign in their own country, they were foreign to their own roots.
What does it feel like to have such powerful cultures flowing through your veins, and not feeling sure which one defines you? That's why I don't understand why we label. It's too difficult. People change throughout their lives, and I think if you hold on to a label, you only restrict your own growth by growing instead to fit that label, instead of growing naturally to become who you truly are. Multiethnicity just proves this point. Why tack on a lot of labels to try to describe who you are? Why not just say your name, and let that be the only definition of who you are? Why try to define yourself by your color, your religion, your personality type, your learning type, whatever? I understand its easier to define ourselves. Its scary to be open and free and completely free falling. But why label? Why does our sexual orientation automatically define us for who we are?
"I knew that I could not go on lying forever to the people I love. I needed help. But I was deathly afraid of revealing the truth. This is the story of how I managed to stumble my way out of the closet, and how I eventually succeeded in becoming myself." (432)
The thing that must hurt the most is hiding who you truly are from those who are supposed to support you and love you unconditionally no matter what. That's what family is, right? I can't imagine feeling like something you do or simply being the person you are could instantly break relations within your family. Actually, I suppose I have a similar situation - not quite that extreme, but kind of akin. I have to live up to certain expectations about who I can enter into a relationship with. First off, I cannot date unless to marry. Even then, it is very restricted as to who I am allowed to love in that way. If I brought home someone outside the lines, my family would love me, but probably consider ME as outside the lines. I can't do that.
"The problem for me with identifying myself as gay has always been that I have never really felt like I was gay. Stories by gay friends describing critical markers of growing up gay do not resonate with my experience." (447)
Stereotypes are everywhere.
The sad thing is, no matter how far we try to go to escape stertotypes and labels, they really are everywhere. The best we can do is focus on ourselves and make sure we see a person for who they are and what their actions say. Not their color, sexuality, race, or religion.
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