Community: Real Life

Cheap labels


Marsha Dowie

Marsha, 16, is studying AS levels in English and media. She loves being creative and is aiming for a career in the media industry.

Marsha disagrees with people labelling each other based on appearances and is sick of social segregation among peers.

Why is it that often when we see or meet someone new, we immediately feel the need to give that person a ridiculous label? Take 'emo' for example. As soon as you mention the word it's inevitable that people will imagine a skinny girl or guy with black hair, a side fringe and thick black eyeliner. They may be thinking the person is grouchy, sensitive and even depressed. Why? Who even made up such words? Well, if you didn't know already, the term emo is an abbreviation for emotional and originated from a genre of music with controversially emotive lyrics. Nowadays, the term is used to stereotype young people who wear black clothes as being overly emotional.

Next there's the label 'chav'. Very few people can deny they've used that word to describe someone! Chavs are charmingly defined in the Urban Dictionary as "The dregs of human existence". If you label someone as a chav just because they happen to wear tracksuits and tuck their socks into their trousers, you're immediately handing this person a whole new identity of ignorance and stupidity. For all you know this so-called chav could be a friendly family-orientated A-grade student.

What worries me is that often we don't even know that we're using such labels. It has become dangerously natural, and in my opinion it could lead to a culture of institutionalised labelling meaning it will become more acceptable in everyday life. Believe it or not, labelling has been identified as a form of prejudice and discrimination, but that's barely publicised. So, is this another thing we can blame the media for?

But it's not just labelling from outsiders that's the problem. Certain young people who are surprisingly happy to be identified by terms such as emo or skater have started online groups and fan clubs which abuse so-called chavs. These appear on social networking sites that that a majority of us use. Among them are <we-luv-sk8ers> and<emos-will-provail>. How pathetic is that? Have we now created a social war?

"True, we have an entire history of segregation due to race, gender and social status, but thats history. This is now! We've no valid reasons to assume someone's personality simply from first impressions."

It's noticeable that labelling has completely separated us. True, we have an entire history of segregation due to race, gender and social status, but that's history. This is now! We've no valid reasons to assume someone's personality simply from first impressions. There are no valid reasons why we have to witness an emo and a chav standing as far away from one another as possible. I think it's negatively affecting the social development of young people like us. Don't you find it depressing that some people feel the need to judge others and to turn their noses up at their peers in this way? You've probably even endured it yourself, perhaps without knowing. Something desperately needs to be done to reunite us. 

Most people would agree that we all have the right to express ourselves and our individuality through fashion and hobbies; therefore why should we be bullied at the same time by those who disagree with our preferences? It has been said by a victim that by labelling someone you are: "Concealing them within a box of which they have limits to their actions." Ultimately, to label someone is childish, pointless and pathetic and we should do something to stop it.

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