I'm late coming to this post, but this is an interesting topic. My personal view is that labels, while they may foster a feeling of identity and belonging at first, are ultimately limiting and possibly harmful, especially when it comes to sexual orientation and gender identity/expression. Sometimes people end up embodying stereotypes or even caricatures as a way to feel as if they belong, or to express what they feel, or let others know who they are. But people are complicated and we might end up repressing something else within ourselves. And we have to keep in mind that these stereotypes and caricatures were created by those who did not understand us.


My idea of a better future is a world in which no one has to come out as anything, or slap a label on any aspect of identity. A person would be able to spend the day wearing a scruffy t-shirt, cargo pants, and battered hiking boots (that would be me), and the evening in a black dress or a fluffy pink tutu with butterfly wings if they want--regardless of what's between their legs. (Gender is of course far more complicated than clothing choices, but I hope you get the idea I'm trying to express here.) A person's ability to love wouldn't be limited by what's between a person's legs, or how they feel about gender, if the concept of gender even exists in the future.

I'm trying to step carefully here because I don't want to cause offense, or seem as if I'm invalidating anyone's questions or struggles. That certainly isn't the case. I just think people could be more free, and more happy and complete, without the divisions inherent in labeling. Going onto LGBTQI+ chat rooms and forums and the like can be a landmine. Some people can't seem to stand it when they can't place someone else into a neat little box. Some people can't seem to bear it if they can't place themselves into a neat little box. Neat little boxes are another version of a closet.