Hey guys!!! I hope your all well, its been a while since I’ve written anything. Well over 6 months actually. I’ve found it really hard to focus, but “thank you Jesus” I’m inspired. Confusion. My endeavours to keep on writing and to follow through on my ideas had been stunted by the shifts that had occurred in my personal life; I’d left my job and had to wait 6 months for my new one to start, I hated my temporary job, i’d moved back into my family home. The list goes on, but my insistent desire to want to belong to something, to fit in, had left me and my creative wilting. Its like i needed some kind of social domain to have a voice and i’d fluttered around so many boxes that i’d become a mute. I was spent. Confused. I needed a label. A label, when did i need a pigeon hole to be able to have a voice. I have a couple of queries:
What does label mean?
label ˈleɪb(ə)l/ noun noun: label; plural noun: labels A classifying phrase or name applied to a person or thing, especially one that is inaccurate or restrictive.Inaccurate or restrictive.
Comical. So if I’m not completely exact or too rigid, I’m assigned a box. Why? What are they trying to control? Do I feel controlled? A friend of mine mentioned to me her discomfort at travelling as a “black woman” in foreign countries. She explained that the rarity of her complexion and the references to Beyonce and Serena Williams had left her uncomfortable in her own skin. In my own experiences, at night I myself have crossed the road in effort to make others feel more safe. Let me be clear, This is not a BLACK thing, Its social thing. But as i am only one person I can only draw from my own experiences. But here are some other examples of labels: White, Male, Female, Working Class, Skinny, Beautiful, Fat, Ugly, hipster, chav, townie, Upper Class, Asian, Religious, Gay, Straight, Bisexual ect. Now I’m sure my friend and i have never caused anyone to feel uneasy, i sure as hell have never purloined a handbag. But yet this ‘label’ has stifled me to the point where i feel dangerous. Solution. DROP MY DESIGNATION!!!! Good. Hoorah. However, in my efforts to drop my old garb, am i aspiring to new restrictions/labels? And if i don’t represent the obvious, Am I perceived to be fraudulent?
From the moment we are born, even before we can develop our personality, we are dumped with these labels and told to deal with them. These labels mould peoples lives and define where they fit in society. The issue here is is that all labels carry a negative, some greater than others. And in my efforts to keep my head above water i was reaching for anything. I was lost. Question. Who is gaining from these disadvantaged camps?.. I’ll leave that for you to think about. Labels are circumstance, not tarot cards and there will always be prejudices, But don’t tangle yourself trying to adopt new labels or settle in the negative or adjudicate yourself before anyone has had a chance to. The key is be Human.
P.S And to that soap shop in Covent Garden, who never offer me a free sample, maybe if you didn’t price me based on how i look, maybe you’d get a sale.