Thursday, November 10, 2011

Labels: Good or Bad

Every day we use symbols to classify the relationships and items in our life whether they be good or bad. Symbolic interactionism does just that; symbolic interactionism is the use of symbols to describe various components in life like relationships and individuals. The symbols we create and use to categorize people and our interactions with them are essential to our functioning in society. So the question posed is: are labels good, bad, or both?

Although this seems to be a tricky issue the idea of labels is fascinating in a social pyramidal scheme as well as in relation to race. In the social pyramidal scheme, the high school setting is probably the easiest to identify because the specific groups each have names and there are social rules that each follows. I am sure we all remember the names, like the popular girls, the jocks, the nerds and so on. The names of these cliques are the labels we associate with our relationships and interactions that eventually guide an individual in their decisions with they will hang out with and who will be there friend. The labels in high school can have both an adverse and a positive effect on an individual. When thinking about the labels in relation to the big picture so like huge groups of people these labels are how we organize our social ladder and even who we know we can and cannot associate with based on how we see or know our labels.

Now in relation to race, gender, or even physical appearances labels are usually perceived as negative. For example in the film, “A Class Divided,” a film teaching about a method of eliminating discrimination uses the labels brown eyes and blue eyes. Although may not seem negative at first, the film makes the audience realized that labels are usually considered negative because of the connotations that re associated with it. Continuing with the example from the film, Jane Elliot the instructor performing the experiment on the first days stated that brown eyed people were lazy and various other traits. This label ultimately affects the children’s personalities and how they felt about themselves. So really this example is perfect for explaining how labels can be harmful as well as negative.

To answer the question labels can be either good or bad. Although sometimes or maybe most times labels can be negative to an individual or group. The idea of negativity is usually based on an individual’s thoughts and emotions towards the label. So when we use label to describe relationships, individuals, or groups of people we have to be careful to the extent in which we use them.

No comments:

Post a Comment