We use big, broad strokes to put people, ideas and things into categories.
Black/white, gay/straight, rich/poor, disabled/able-bodied.
Yet, any category can be broken down further.
Immigrant, cisgender, bankrupt.
Keep going…
60% African/40% European, celibate, parapelgic, diabetic, IQ of 145.
Every label is used to define what we think is “normal.” Except there is no normal. Attributes are relative and not absolute.
By “normalizing” everything and everyone, we avoid using brainpower to evaluate. Instead, we make snap judgments of how we interpret the world around us.
Indeed, labels influence our judgment and how we decide who gets the benefit of the doubt. Inevitably fueling context. Our culture for too long has thrown people into categories and has treated them less than equal. Perhaps, it’s possible then, with enough attention, we can zero in these categories further and we will no longer overgeneralize large segments of the population based on what we see.
To label is to distinguish it from something else. Think about it.
Josh Allred's Blog 