What Are Labels? From New Zealand? Essay

To many people across a variety of different nationalities and cultures, race has been proven to be a key factor for how society views you in the eyes of those who are prominently in charge. The term race has been brought up in recent years, to be considered a form of identification, as the word race is used to describe physical characteristics such as a person’s color of skin, hair, and eyes. When in reality, the correct term they should be using is Ethnicity. As a result, the term race is used to separate people into sub-categories based on the color of their skin. This type of classification, is a man-made creation used by society to classify certain groups of people into lower classes, while keeping the predominate group in charge at the top.

Some sociologists believe that the cause of crime and deviance is labelling which is when a label is attached to a person or group of people due to their appearance, sex, ethnicity etc. Labelling theory argues that once this label has been attached it can create a self fulfilling prophecy, which is when the person begins to act according to the label and hence it comes true simply through being made. Labelling is similar to stereotyping but this is when a person assigns certain characteristics to a labelled group. An example to support this would be 9/11. Since this disaster people label Muslims as being terrorists

In his essay, “Racial Identities”, Kwame Anthony Appiah addresses the topic of racial identification. He describes how and why it’s hard not to identify someone based on their race. Today in the United States, racial identification is quite relevant. People judge and stereotype others based on race. Classifying people based on their looks isn’t bad, it’s the negative attitudes and labels that come with it. Racial identification is hard for most people to avoid, is detrimental due to the bad attitudes people have, negatively affects people’s lifestyles, and divide people.

As human beings, we like to put labels on people around us to help us identify them. Most of these people around us are strangers and we do not know any personal detail about them. We tend to identify them based on their appearance, rather than who or how they are as people. We are often unaware of the impacts our labels have on these people. In the essay “ On being a cripple” by Nancy Mairs and “ The Myth of a Latin woman : I Just Met a Girl Named Maria” by Judith Ortiz Cofer, the writers have successfully portrayed the feelings that arise in people’s mind based on the way they are identified. In both the essays, the writers tell us how they have been incorrectly labeled and judged by society based on their social, physical and racial appearance, how they are tired of it and how they have come to accept and make peace with it.

There are different context in which labeling has specifically been used in the readings; however, there is an overarching theme in that the labels serve to undermine and to subjugate Latinos, Asian Americans and African Americans. The readings primarily focused on the criminalization and the perceived deviance of Latinos and Latino youth.

I learned early on not to judge a Jelly Bean by its color, and that it was an unrewarding practice to group together these individual candies because when not every bean fit into a color category, I forced it to. The same can be said for people. Each and every one of us are unique individuals, and it is virtually impossible to effectively ‘sort’ us into groups - even more so as our society progresses. Identifiers such as race, religion, sexual orientation - even gender - which we once used to group people together, now make up the many cracks in modern American society. It is this action of separating the Red Jelly Bellies from the rest that creates an almost immobile American mindset: you are a Red… you must be a cherry.

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

One may ask what is a socially constructed label? Is it the way society labels individuals by the color or one’s skin or the culture from which individuals affiliate them self’s with? Race is a socially constructed label means that individuals from different cultures or ethnics tend to label the different types of race’s that are known in different community’s and see them different from their own and tend to judge one another’s culture. During the readings that were assigned it came down to whether law enforcement officials tend to label social action by the different cultures and minority’s in different areas and the way they approached and dealt with the minority groups.

This article was publish in the Business section of The Atlantic as this is an economic issue. Pinsker wanted to appeal to people who are of working status and who don’t really have an understanding of the vast effects of being labeled because of race, social status, and education. Because this magazine is also based in Washington D.C, many political figures could also be the intended audiences for this

In Crips and the Bloods we see multiple examples of labels continuing crime. First off, most of the children born in this area are black and poor. Already they are labeled and stereotyped as being dangerous to communities, useless to society, and destined for failure. One man says “I grew up in the hood, I was born in the hood, I was raised in the hood, and I’m going to die in the hood. I didn’t choose my destiny, my destination chose me” (Peralta, 2008). This phrase demonstrates the power of a label. He was born into a community of violence and gangs and there is no way for him to escape it. Because he was born into this particular setting, this man now considers himself a person from “the hood,” he behaves in ways that are congruent with society’s idea of what some from the “hood” would behave like. In order to uphold his label, the viewer notices that this man dresses and speaks in a manner that is consistent with the “hood” label. Of course these things are not criminal, but this example demonstrates the unescapable power of a label.

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

In the story “Rosa” by Cynthia Ozick labels have a profound impact on the main character. Rosa, the main character, lived through concentration camps during the Second World War. Her experiences lead people to label her as a survivor, among other things, leading to her rejecting those titles. Although Rosa does not want to be categorized, she is constantly being assigned different labels. The fact that labels seem to be so important in the story suggests the author is trying to make a statement about society.

Labeling theorists suggest that labeling individuals as deviant has the potential of becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy (Globokar, 2008). Howard Becker has described deviance as a “consequence of the application by others of rules and sanctions to an ‘offender’; the deviant is one to whom the label has successfully been applied; deviant behavior is behavior people so label” (Clinard & Meier, 2011:89). Culture, sex, age and other elements of identity all shape self-conception, but the meanings that an individual places on various circumstances and interactions certainly play a very important role as well.

Progress cannot be achieved by focusing on socially accepted terms defined by people of power, rather it must come from a change in perspective. Whether a formerly incarcerated person calls themself “ex-con” or a female athlete refers to herself as “girl”, that does not grant others the ability to assign them such terms. We must treat people as equals despite connotations around their professions or identity. In addition, we must take into consideration that socially accepted labels may not be fair or tolerant towards other groups of people one does not identify with. Without gaining the insight of how groups of people or individuals want to be called, the default cannot be to adopt their terms. Rather be attentive and\refer to all people with terms of utmost respect. Also, it is not only important to be represented in society, rather crucial to be properly depicted and empowered as valuable individuals in order to close the gap of social inequality strengthened by derogatory

The social labeling theory infers that descriptive classifications may at times define an individual's behavior or self-identity. The theory closely relates to stereotyping or self-fulfilling prophecies. The theory of social labeling explains why defiant individuals engage in activities that go against cultural or societal norms (Crossman, 2014). Though popular in the early 1970s, theorists have redefined the theory trying to avail assertions that conform to the present social formations. The labeling theory relies on unwanted descriptors including defiance, mental disorder diagnosis, or disability while trying to explain non-conformance to prevalent stipulations or societal requirements. Stigma is an example of a social label that redefines an individual's identity and concept in society.