I’ve been thinking lately about labels. In the US, we tend to have labels and categories for just about everything. (I’m singling out the states because its the only place I’ve ever lived.) We have a label/category for race, for music, for movies, for food, and for books. My question is, why label everything?
I understand the basic reason behind the music, after all you don’t want to pick up a hip hop CD, if you’re in the mood for Merle Haggard. But I guess what I don’t get is the reasoning behind label/categorizing everything. For example, if I want to be called a spicy romance writer, why is it necessary for magazines and online sites to categorize me as a writer of erotica? I do not write erotica. I may write erotic romances, but at no time would I call my writing erotica. Bless the writers who can write it.
I know these little things shouldn’t bother me, but they do. Just like when someone tries to put me in a race box. In general, labels/categories (boxes) are confining spaces, which stunt growth.
I think it’s time to think outside of the box.
September 4th, 2003
