How Labels Influence Your Life -The Harmful Effects of Labeling People
2Labels may seem innocuous, but they can be harmful. Labeling ourselves can negatively affect our self-esteem and hold us back.
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Labels are how we identify things. We use them descriptively and to group like items.
Labeling people can impact a personâs self-identity and become ingrained in their psyche.
Have you ever noticed that things become more âseriousâ or ârealâ when a label is slapped on it? Now why is that? This may be obvious in terms of a relationship: two people can be âtalkingâ but when they decide to slap the label of a ârelationshipâ or âboyfriend-girlfriendâ on it then all of a sudden it becomes more ârealâ or more âserious.â
But meanwhile, nothing really changes besides the acknowledgement from both parties that this label is slathered on them now. They still go on doing the same things; watching movies, sharing dinners, etc.
Letâs take this a step further: you can exhibit all the characteristics of this one type of person, but until that label is given to you, it seems somehow less real, less important or just not true.
Does putting a label on things or people truly make it more ârealâ or is this just a facet of human psychology? Or does the process of âlabelingâ by an authoritative figure actually make things more real?
What about on an individual basis? When you graduate from school and finally become that doctor or engineer or journalist, you can then truthfully label yourself as that occupation.
But the whole time before that authoritative figure (the Dean, or principal, etc.) gives you that stamp of approval youâve already been doing those journalistic or engineering things. So does the label really change anything or is it just a placebo effect? Almost undoubtedly, this âlabelâ makes you more of a ârealâ journalist even though youâve been doing âreal journalistic thingsâ for the past four years in school.
Labels can originate from our family, friends, school, workplace, and society at large. The way you label yourself may have come from an offhand remark, a calculated insult, or entrenched social dynamics.
Social Labels
Labels go beyond our personality traits. Society labels people based on categorizations like race, gender, class, and sexual orientation. These social labels can also shape our perspective of the world and ourselves.
For example, a little girl is limited in some ways because of her gender. She might not be encouraged to follow her interest in science. Or, she might be flat out told that she canât join the little league baseball team because sheâs a girl.
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Social labels immediately place a whole set of expectations on your lap because of things you canât necessarily control, like your gender, race, or sexual orientation.
How Labels Hurt Us
We define ourselves by our labels, and this can lead to self-limiting beliefs.
Labels from childhood might affect future potential and how we see ourselves. Negative labels can stem from trauma at any point in your life. After leaving an abusive relationship, you might carry the names you were called and believe you are unworthy or damaged.
Labels hold us back and keep us small. If a woman is assertive, demonstrative, or outspoken at work, negative labels might cause her to downplay her leadership skills for fear of being called out again.
The way we label ourselves can create a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you think youâre a loser, you wonât try for goals you want to achieve, further âprovingâ that you are a loser. Self-labeling can act as handcuffs that limit your potential.
Labeling people shapes your perspective of them. Shrugging off someoneâs accomplishment by calling them talented ignores the work they put in and the difficulties they overcame.
While labeling a medical disorder can sometimes be helpful, it can also condense someone into just a label. Calling someone an addict summarizes their whole being into one aspect of their life.
Labels are black and white, but the world is more complicated than that. Your identity is not composed of one label. You are the sum of many different aspects of your personality and experience that come together to form a unique person.
Even society is moving away from labeling people. Companies like Target have removed gender labeling on their aisles. This eliminates unnecessary social labels for girls who want to play with Hot Wheels and boys who want to play with Barbies.