Brenda J. Allen's Difference Matters

Identity is a group of characteristics, data or information that belongs exactly to one person or a group of people and that make it possible to establish differences between them. The consciousness that people have about themselves is part of their identity as well as what makes them unique. According to psychologists, identity is a consistent definition of one’s self as a unique individual, in terms of role, attitudes, beliefs and aspirations. Identity tries to define who people are, what they are, where they go or what they want to be or to do. Identity could depend on self-knowledge, self-esteem, or the ability of individuals to achieve their goals. Through self-analysis people can define who they are and who the people around them

Labeling theory holds that individuals come to identify and act as per their labels. The major tenet of this theory is that the behavior and self-identity of individuals is affected by the way they are described by other people (Vold, Bernard, Snipes, & Gerould, 2016). According to this theory, the act of deviance is not implicit in a particular act, but is hedged on the inclination of the majority to ascribe labels to minorities in society who deviate from standard behavior. Labeling leads to dramatization of a particular act – which propagates the behavioral clash between the individual and the community. Through ascribing labels, the individuals acquire a negative self-image. The individuals accept themselves as labeled by the

Looking at the categorization of different peoples throughout history as well as the changes the labels they possess have gone through, as well as identifying labels used in a derogatory way today we can see that labels have

A modern example of labeling being ineffective is the treatment of immigrants in United States soil. Most European immigrants who assimilate and resemble the majority group of the population, face little to no social alienations when trying to enter the United States or when they are settled. Reversely, Spanish, Middle-Eastern or African immigrants who do not resemble the majority group, when attempting to enter the United States, have a hard time gaining access to the country and even face alienation as they are viewed as threats. This hinders the country’s growth because some citizens and the government do not recognize that both groups, the one which assimilates and the other which does not, have assets that could improve the economy. There is no real genetic difference in the human species even though they vary in gender, race and sexuality; they are just natural occurrences. And, to avoid discrimination based on characteristics such as gender, race and sexuality, one must be aware of his or her own imbedded biases.

By labeling people into certain groups gives a representation of a societal segment. Each segment represents that particular group. Labels can be used to build someone up, or to break someone down. We have African Americans; but not all African Americans represent the Black Lives Matter Protest. Muslim Americans; but not all Muslim Americans are a part of ISIS or Radical Islam. White Americans; but not all White Americans belong to the Ku Klux Klan. That is only three labels, and I think they are all equally harsh. We are all human and do not have that right of judgement. Only our one Higher Power that of which we choose or not to choose to believe in has that right of judgement upon us. So labeling presents a very big problem. If you

Since the dawn of time girls, boys, women, and men were taught by society to play certain roles and certain behaviors based on tradition, religion, and other beliefs. We have especially been taught to identify race and treat other races differently. We didn't come out of our mother’s womb knowing our race. People were taught to identify race and identify other races ,race is just a label. Since birth the world force fed us with these labels, eventually humans accepted these labels without a doubt. You see, labels are not who you are and labels are not who I am. In this world we are all the same, we shouldn't have a label to identify who we are. Let me ask you a question who would you be if the world would of never given you a label? Would you be;

The labeling theory is a theory that describes how the self-identity and behavior of individuals may be determined or influenced by the terms people use to describe or classify them (Mead, 2008). I feel as though labeling can be categorized with stereotyping. I don't see how they are different from each other because you are putting a label on someone because of their actions.

Certain people it seems need to label other people, pigeon hole them if you will, and they typically do this with those they do not understand.

When we are taken in by a label, we are taken in by opinions and beliefs. This makes a person wonder why people see only a narrow view of an expansive and complicated human being. Labels are assumptions. It obscures the contents of the individual. The question people might ask is, “Aren’t labels a description?” There’s nothing wrong with using descriptions. For example, think about the difference between saying “Sara is short” and “Sara is a loser”. ‘Short’ is a description because it is based on a fact: it’s just another way of saying “Sara is 4 feet, four inches.” When we call Sara a ‘loser’ , however, we empty the word of meaning. We are describing the person by a single term and reducing them to a one-dimensional artifact of the profound person they really are. This is totally unfair. People don’t understand the real power of words and how we should be able to avoid using them to diminish

In today’s society we are driven by labels. Everything and everyone is labeled and is not always interpreted by people as positive and constructive. We are entailed by society to label and classify each other in groups subconsciously, without even realizing. Society's desire to divide people further into the deprivation of the truth to which can ultimately free us. This also affects how we view ourselves, we are trained put ourselves in different boxes and we find it hard to break free from the labels and standards we think society want us to conform to.

At first, labeling can be a very successful way to keep a group of people from advancing. Also, it can cause the labeled group to feel hopeless. Anne Frank described it as a time, “When all ideals are being swallowed and destroyed, and people showing their worst side, and do not know whether to believe in truth and right in God” (263). Jews could not own a bicycle.

“We focus so much on our differences, and that is creating, I think, a lot of chaos and negativity and bullying in the world. Everyone should focus on what we all have in common -which is- we all want to be happy.” --Ellen DeGeneres-- When I read this the first time it made me think of LABELS. The world force feeds us these labels and we all swallow, digest, and accept them eventually without questioning them. But there’s one problem: they are not you and they are not me. They are just labels. Our organic structure is like the cars that we drive around and function. We are forced to own these cars for the rest of our lives, with no test drive, 0% APR and no money down. Because of labels, in other words bullying, myriad of people around the globe are wretched.

People may think someone else's religion is unfavorable or negative, while another person will support their beliefs and think it positive. When holding labels on people you are creating categories of them. For example what would you label a criminal as? Probably a bad person or a hoodlum. When in reality they may be neither of those things. It's just what society perceives criminals as. The rich and poor is another example of labeling. You could think since this person is rich and they live a great life then they make better grades or get the higher paying job, which isn't always true. A person who is poor could study and work much much harder than someone who is rich and still get into a great college with scholarships and get a job that is just as good as anyone else's. Labeling can be a very negative thing sometimes. It is out of my control on how people judge me or think of me. Everyone thinks of people differently and you can't always control how people perceive you. Reputation is a major part in being a student and everyone will judge and label you without even really knowing you. This how I think labeling is out of my control sometimes because other people can label you as something you are

Labels are put on jars, boxes, and crates, but they are put on people as well. But who made these labels? The answer is us. Previous generations pass on these labels to stamp on people, whether it be race, culture, or what they wear to school. We are taught to make these labels by society, but eventually the labels on objects are broken, so why can’t ours’ be broken? When we buy a shirt we take the tag off and put it in our dresser. We don’t leave one shirt laying around with a big tag still on it. How do we pull this tag off of ourselves and have a more tolerant world, and what kind of labels are being used now? To find some answers to these we will look at my personal experiences, examples in society, and what a world would look like

I am constantly in situations where I find myself analyzing a person and placing them in the category that I see fit. Separating and classifying is a part of human nature because of our internal need to create a certain kind of order in society. Without this variety of personalities, wants, and beliefs put into a sequence,