You know what’s so crazy? We hate labels but we make the labels. Without getting all academic, certain labels are social constructs, right? Actually, some would say that everything is a social construct. Race, money, disability, and time are all a thing because we say they’re a thing.
Mind-blowing.
“Social constructs develop within a society or group. They don't represent objective reality but instead are meaningful only because people within the society or group accept that they have meaning. Simply put, social constructs do not have inherent meaning. The only meaning they have is the meaning given to them by people.”
We create the labels.
This post is totally the fault of a talented, clever Tik Tokker whose account I follow. The kid is a real ham - cute and just precocious enough, maybe 9 or 10 years old. All kinds of outfits, gourmet food that seems a little high end for the age of his tastebuds, and sage advice about enjoying life. He just loves everything about each day.
I don’t actually know if the kid is a boy or a girl but I did find myself wondering how they identify and then I thought, who cares when they’re so entertaining? Sometimes they serve up zero fucks in a whimsical sparkly skirt, and sometimes they’re obviously wearing a Hugo Boss suit, European cut. And they have the prettiest curly hair, totally androgynous. And I am here for all of it. Would the entertainment I get from them be impacted if I knew their gender? Nope. They just make me smile.
We’re the ones who need to fit them into a construct to make sense of what we’re seeing. There’s only male or female because we say it’s so; we’ve agreed to accept gender roles because everyone else has.
We’ve been royally gaslit. By ourselves.
But we can totally deconstruct.
It’s a tough task but just for a moment try to visualize a world where the concept of race was never constructed. Each one of us is on a level playing field based on only our merits, based on our beating hearts. If it’s beating you get the same chance as anyone else no matter what anyone sees in the mirror.
Crazy right?
Get the fuck out there and deconstruct, man!
Sincerely writing,
Zoey
P.S. Below is an example of good labels. I took pictures of them on the pillows at a Wyndham hotel I stayed at last year because I wanted to buy them.