Why I Love Labels

Why I Love Labels

Why would someone have more of a problem with “I am autistic” rather than “I am female”, “I am Asian-American”, or “I am melancholic-choleric with supine tendencies”? Labels are verbalizations of what make us who we are and, as most people take great pride in their identities, I see no problem with labels as long as we embrace them as an explanation of whom we are.

Labels can become harmful if misused, but they are not inherently harmful. In fact, I predominantly learn using labels because I am a verbal learner. I would feel threatened by people who are different from me if I did not have a label to ascribe their traits to; most likely, I would end up rejecting every ESFP that ever came my way. As an INTJ, the ESFP nature would be a foreign concept to me without the Myers-Briggs classification system and thus, I would alienate these people because I would not be able to understand them.

Likewise, knowing that I am autistic and have inattentive ADHD makes me understand myself and the way I operate to a higher extent than if I did not use labels. I can use my labels to deliver useful information about myself without disclosing particularly invasive details about my life. My interest in/obsession with labels is most likely an autistic trait of mine; I usually spend my time scouring the Internet for temperament tests like DISC assessments, temperament testing, and countless informal personality quizzes when I’m not blogging or reading other blogs.  

I have yet to meet someone who goes out of their way to describe others as “people with (gender/race/religion/other) or “someone who happens to be (temperament classification).” However, more often than not, I see emphasis on person-first language when it comes to disability labels. This suggests that disability labels are something to be ashamed of while others are readily embraced; the phrase “person who is a Keirsey Rational with autism” can be interpreted as “I am ashamed of my hardwiring and wish I were a neurotypical Artisan.” I find it illogical to put my "person first" because the labels are verbalizations of parts of the person. 

An INTJ label does not mean I have to be the stereotypical, “extreme” INTJ often shown in television and other forms of media nor does an autism diagnosis mean that I need to fit the mold of an autistic person exactly. Contrary to popular belief, labels are freeing rather than confining. The increased self-awareness increases positive adaptivity as well as greater self-esteem. Whether accepted or denied, labels are one of the most important parts of disability advocacy. 

As long as I am treated like a person first, there is no need to express it in language. I have met many a person who uses person-first language, yet treats others and myself like we are diagnoses. Though I am a verbal learner, the smallest action can rise above a sea of words on any occasion. Regardless of your disability (or lack thereof), Myers-Briggs type, Galen temperament, Keirsey temperament, or other identifying factors, labels are tools used to create understanding. Whether this understanding is correct or incorrect depends on one’s interpretation of said label.