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June 19, 2012 - Check it out. I have links on the right sidebar.
So today's comic is about labels. Honestly, I think they're completely meaningless, but a lot of people put a lot of weight behind them. Honestly, I don't think there's much to be gained from declaring oneself liberal or bisexual. But I'm just me, and a lot of people seem to like to apply labels to define ideologies.
The problem with labels is that they don't mean anything. Star's definition of bisexuality contrasts severely from Brianna's as do their viewpoints on extreme liberalism. I don't think either of them are wrong. I don't think bisexuality means you want your pick between both genders, it can mean that you just want to form a connection with one person regardless of their genitalia. Unfortunately I often feel bisexuals are unfairly portrayed as indecisive, unemotional, and sex-crazed in most instances where they occur, and though that may apply to some bisexuals (and even Star often tries to present herself as such), I don't feel it's an honest portrayal of bisexuality.
I realize I'm just scratching the surface of this portrayal of bisexuality, so I don't want to say much more, but I did want to leave a clue of where I'm heading.
Meanwhile, I remember being called a communist in college to prove a point about how insults are only relative to how much offense one takes from them (in the case of being called communist, none at all, but imagine a stereotypical war vetran during the McCarthy Era), and trying to come up with an appropriate insult for Star. Obviously I settled on the implication she wasn't a liberal, which again goes to the fact that she enjoys the label of being a super liberal despite its not having any real meaning.
Obviously, I have some liberal political feelings myself, but I struggle to call myself a liberal. I kinda like stances that work towards harmony rather than discord and I don't feel labelling myself as liberal accomplishes this.
Another label I'm actually not particularly fond of is the term "feminist." I basically feel the term highlights the problem rather than proposes a solution. By definition a feminist is one who thinks all women should be treated equal to men, but I don't see why the terms "women" or "men" need to be used instead of "genders." Isn't the goal to achieve equality not highlight the oppressed group? I think the term fails to create a solution, instead prolonging the problem by bringing attention to the injustice women have faced and continue to face while suggesting that changes only need to be made that benefit women rather than changes that work towards equality.
I think I'd prefer anti-sexist or gender equalist or something that removed a specific gender from the label, but the problem isn't finding the right term, it's creating a solution. I don't think I'm finding a solution by talking about labels though, so I think that's all I have to say.
-D
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