Why is my generation so obsessed with labels?

Question

I'm talking about pronouns, sexualities, mental disorders, etc. I'm gen z too, but I just don't understand the obsession with these things

NamerOfStars · Accepted Answer

The short answer is that most of the important fights are already won. The Boomers took to streets to gain equal opportunities for black people, and got them (which is a big part of why so many of them are so self-obsessed; they see themselves as heroes who opposed a great bigoted villain). The Gen Xers took to the courts to to win the next round, and did, but nobody really thinks about them, because it became popular to blame everything that want wrong on... The Millennials, who took to the ballot box to settle the short strokes.

With the big and obvious problems taken care of, people of all ages began taking to social media- and there the trouble began. If you go to a protest, everyone there can see you, and you might- MIGHT- wind up in a picture, or seen on television. But since the cultural zeitgeist picked up "protest" as equaling "righteous cause", it became socially fashionable to be seen throwing one's lot in with a protest, regardless of the legitimacy of the cause. It became less about actually doing good, and more about being seen to do good.

There are still major social issues remaining, but most of them are afflicting those who aren't part of designated Victim Groups, so it's presumed that anything that happens to them, they just deserve. For example: right here in the US, every single day, thousands of babies are taken, mere minutes after they're born, and permanently sexually mutilated. Anyone would agree that that's terrible- until you point out that it's *boys* that this is being done to; then the support disappears, because "male" so strongly puts you in the "oppressor" category that even being a BABY can't get you out of it.

Another example: gay "pride" month festivities. Now, I have nothing against throwing parades celebrating the glory of sexy shirtless dudes smooching each other, but that's about lust, not pride. Pride would be challenging legal and social mores in places where being homosexual carries jail time, or even a death sentence. And a few people and organizations do, indeed, struggle to change those ideas- but most prefer to simply bask in the accomplishments of others and earn the social credit that comes with joining the parade after the battle's already won.

When I was a child, my parents (who were kids in the 60's, and wanted to ensure their own children had more common sense than the world they grew up in) raised us to treat people equally, and to know that sometimes people would act in ways that we didn't understand, and that such situations were best approached with tolerance and genuine attempts to grok their motivations- sort of a Tao of Mister Rogers, if you will. But while I was taught that "to do behavior X is masculine, but some men don't like to, and some women do, so understand that that label is descriptive, not proscriptive", the modern teaching is "to do behavior X is masculine, so anyone who enjoys it is masculine, too- it's okay if you do, but that means you're not a woman, so understand that while attitudes are not mutable, gender is".

Such an idea is, to be blunt, bugfuck insane. That it's so widely preached doesn't really bother me; I was taught nonsense too. That it so often goes unquestioned, however...

MCheetah · Accepted Answer

Boring and uninteresting people love to give themselves labels to appear more intriguing and interesting than they really are, whether that be "bisexual" or "pansexual" to call yourself gay, or just making up pronouns and genders.

Though to be fair, that's not a Zoomer thing; my generation, Millennials, the worst generation of all time, came up with that nonsense. Also, to be fair, that's not as abnormal as you'd think. Most human beings are basic, uninteresting, and fairly useless to society. We call them "average." The only difference is, "average" people are fairly useless, but like to think of themselves as special anyway, for no reason. While your try-hard Millennials and Zoomers are detrimental to society and the biggest conformists of all (which is why they all copy the same trends, dye their hair the same way, get the same tattoos and face piercings, etc), but like to think of themselves as being special and unique for being "bisexual," "polyamorous," or coming up with new sexualities and pronouns, like being ketchupsexual or xim/xer or what-have-you.

The biggest irony is, the only thing they'd have to do to be different from the rest of society is something. Literally, just do SOMETHING! Contribute to society! Don't just be another leech coasting by on other people's hard work and efforts. But nope. Even among the "special snowflakes," trying to actual contribute to society is too much to ask for, making them just like your "average" everyday slob who also doesn't think to do something greater than themselves.

That's my societal diatribe and I'm sticking to it.

Seinna · Accepted Answer

Well, every generation until mature is obsessed with being unique and different.

Whether that's to do with fashion, music taste or in this case, the new thing being labels.

Now imagine you want to be different... but there's nothing so different about you. You could try focusing on excelling in some way to differentiate yourself... or instead you could call yourself they/them because that's less work for more recognition.

Nothing changed, just in "our times" there were subcultures like emo etc.

Then of course there's the fact that dividing people is a strategy used by politicians. This idea of different social groups competing against each other at schools is only an American thing. What should it tell you? That it's artificially created, not natural. Everywhere there's division by poorly undersood individualism, there's less power for the people who are busy bickering and more for their overseers. And there's few things more polarising than race and sexuality so naturally the media always tries to pit those groups against each other and even make it fashionable to strongly identify with one of them by creating a common enemy in the other one.

Msputiton · Accepted Answer

But is it only Gen Z?
Look at the other generations. They seem more obessed with it.
Refusing to allow people to peacefully identify how they want.

Maybe gen z wouldn't be so obessed about allowing people to freely identify how they want if other generations didn't try to force their labels on people who don't want use them.

It be like a guy born joseph but wants to go by Joe. But some guy saying

no!!! Your mentally ill. You were born Joseph. You can't go by Joe.

OlderAndWiser · Answer

Because the political left is obsessed with identity politics.

ChrisMaster69 · Answer

It’s always been like this, society however has tried to suppress things.

The link below relates to the use of the word Queer.

https://blog.nationalarchives.gov.uk/queer-history-a-history-of-queer/

how it went from an identifier to a slur and derogatory name, before being claimed as a badge to self identify.

Also some related to the sexuality spectrum are really only coming to light because of psychologists etc looking in to how sexual attraction, interest levels etc change and being able to categories various types, labels work for assessments and to self identify, however we should have a label free society, it should not matter if a person is gay, lesbian, Asexual, Demisexual etc.

it does however show society in some places is moving on and people are becoming more accepting of people being different and not a simple black and white society.

Anonymous · Answer

Young people in general are overly interested in labels, feeling special, and finding places to belong -- at least in western countries that lack tradition. Young people look for places to belong and an identity to become, and when there's a lack of good parents and good social cohesion in society, young people take this to insane degrees. Today, the vessel for the youth's search for meaning and belonging is wokeness. Usually youth culture takes a more counter-culture angle, but wokeness is framed as the virtuous hip counter culture movement. It gets them on the hook with people making hand hearts, waving specific coloured flags, and pattering on about acceptance for all manner of *special* groups. It reminds me of Hot Topic selling emo and goth shit to young people trying to be edgy, and today it's Amazon and big tech selling young people on things corporate messaging as if it's some edgy rebellious thing. The kids go out and graffiti "Black Lives Matter" on skate parks and don't seem to notice that they're parroting big corporations which have got them on the hook, alienated from their parents, being indoctrinated into a toxic worldview to suit the power needs of big wigs.

buddysboy16 · Answer

First of all, amen. I've thought this for awhile and still wholeheartedly agree with you.

To some extent, labels are useful such as to diagnose ACTUAL problems or present a meaningful difference. This has been taken to an extreme in every regard and in multiple ways.

I personally think people want to feel special so if they're part of a niche group of only a select few (even if its a group you normally wouldn't want to be a part of), they feel more special and more validated.

Long story short, everyone's a fucking snowflake these days.

Kaneki05 · Answer

But aren't you? or do you just one label as It for everyone which if so then fairs but pretty sure you don't therefore that makes you need labels and also are obsessed with them in fact asking this question it's self shows some obsession with them so this is just a look in a mirror time.

Because if you didn't care you would just say It all the time or just say what the person wants you to because you don't care. But clearly you do lol.

RolandCuthbert · Answer

Well, you have a choice. You can be labeled and boxed by other folks.

Or you can label and box yourself. Maybe it is better to have some say in how folks will identify you. Because believe it or not. . .

human beings are social creatures. We define ourselves through group identity.

BCA6010 · Answer

They're desperately trying to tribalize themselves and stand out from the crowd of millions of equally useless individuals. I wish I was joking, but that's pretty much it.

FilmGuy93 · Answer

That's what happens when people don't have a sense of direction or identity; they try to find ways to belong.

All these gender identity labels are just ways to feel like they belong in one group or another.

HighValue · Answer

Gen Y has the most mental disorders and Gen z is after that. They often like to mislabel things and hate statistics and real science that uses the scientific method.

Brendan24 · Answer

It allows them to explain who they are pretty sure this has been around for a while its just
1 there were no terms for it back then
2 its safer for them to be free with who they want to be now than it was in the past

TheFlak38 · Answer

because that's how modern communism works. In their sick worldview you're not an individual. You're just the sample of whatever groups of people you belong to and you're either a victim or a fascist depending on said groups they have assigned you to.

jshm2 · Answer

It isn't. Just as not everyone is obsessed with memes, avocado on toast and pumpkin spice.  It's just a trope.

sammy_sammy · Answer

I think it's bc we want to feel valid. I personally do it bc I want to have a sense of belonging

Anonymous · Answer

Everyone wants to feel like they belong. If it makes you feel better, it's not just your generation. It's every generation. They just use different labels.

Soteris · Answer

That has always been the case. "Patriot", "Communist", "savages", "barbarians" etc...

Subarugirl · Answer

It’s not just your generation hon.. it’s all of them

noohair · Answer

it is a tool of the political overseer class to divide humans into tribes. It makes the population easier to manage.

joeldalton · Answer

It's a way for cultural marxists to separate people by category. Then they can claim one category oppresses the other.

jahaims · Answer

They gain positive attention for being woke and virtue signaling. Instead of developing a personality they attach theirselves to that.

TexasRed95 · Answer

They feel the need to be noticed. By any means so they make labels.

JohnK123 · Answer

ME TOO WHAT THE HECK IS WRONG WITH US im worried lmao I’m 16 and worrying about our future 😬

Danny_dan92 · Answer

Seriously. I don’t understand you guys/girls

CallmeTheKnight · Answer

People just want to feel special

Dinosaursandanime65 · Answer

It’s basically an existential crisis but stupid

Londi73 · Answer

Because they are moronic.

Sweetlindacoolturds · Answer

Me neither! I

Citizenkirk · Answer

Marketing

jasco · Answer

I have no idea

disgustingweebtrash · Answer

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