The Limits of Labeling

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Labels can be at the same time all-encompassing and limiting, depending on the cultural connotations associated with them. For example, the literal definition of feminist is “a person who advocates equal social, political, and all other rights for women and men.” But who are these people who label themselves feminists? In our years of teaching undergraduates, we’ve heard plenty of students note that feminists are women who hate men and care only about professional success. But as the communication professor Andrea McClanahan (2006) points out, “There is no way to tell what a feminist ‘looks’ like. Feminists are young, old, women, men, feminine or masculine, and of varying ethnicities” (para. 5).

Feminists also hail from different religious backgrounds, causing some interesting discussions about the labels believers choose regarding their feminist viewpoints. When a group of Spanish Muslims approached city officials in Barcelona, Spain, about sponsoring a conference on Islamic feminism, one official responded with shock, noting that “Islamic feminism” must surely be a contradiction or an oxymoron (Nomani, 2005). Similarly, the evangelical organization Christians for Biblical Equality, which is committed to the equality of men and women in the home, the workplace, and the church, surveyed members about whether they label themselves feminists. Fred Gingrich noted his dilemma: “I consider myself a Christian feminist, though I am cautious about the contexts in which I share that. Not because I am ashamed of the label, but because I don’t want it to be a stumbling block to dialogue” (quoted in Greulich, 2005, para. 2). Others have eschewed the feminist label entirely because of its connection to liberal politics. Recently, prominent conservative female politicians have donned the label “mama grizzly” to express the fierceness of pro-life, limited-government-espousing women (Torregrosa, 2010).

These examples reveal that the labels we choose for our beliefs affect how we communicate them to others (and how others respond). When we place gender, ethnic, class, occupation, and role labels on others, we sometimes ignore individual differences (Sarich & Miele, 2004). So if you think all feminists are liberal, secular, career-oriented women, you may miss out on the opportunity to understand the feminist views of your aunt who is a stay-at-home mom or your male neighbor who is a Conservative Jew.

Sometimes our use of labels goes beyond ignoring individual differences and moves into the realm of bias. Derogatory labels, such as racial and ethnic slurs, demean and disenfranchise entire groups of people. To empower themselves, however, members of a particular group or co-culture may adopt these labels within the group. Consider, for example, the evolution of the word queer. Its literal definition means “strange, odd, or suspicious,” and it has a history of being used as a derogatory term for gay, lesbian, and transgendered people. But recently, the word has been “taken back,” for example, as when used to distinguish the discipline “queer studies.” This reappropriation has helped legitimize LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) studies in academia.