Vigilantejustice -> RE: Are Labels Helpful to U/us? (6/16/2008 3:38:16 PM)
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ORIGINAL: pinksugarsub When a new member first joins CollarMe, T/they are offered only a few choices: Any, Dominant, Switch, Submissive and Slave. On the boards i see a wider variety of labels used, and on the other side, S/some P/pl attempt to amplify or clarify T/their 'role' in T/their profile. IMO, W/we need/want to use labels to some degree...they offer some valuable communication 'shorthand'. W/we seem to lack any generally-accepted definitions for O/our lables. For example, W/we do not all agree on the label 'Dominant' if applied to a Man who seeks only to find a partner with whom He can indulge a specific fetish, like spanking. (And i'm sure T/there will be T/those reading the Op W/who disagree with the example!) So, my question is, do Y/you feel applying a label to Y/yrself or to S/someone else, either here or on the other side, has been useful to Y/you in better communicating? Should W/we abandon labels? Use T/them less? Define them whenever W/we use T/them? (Seems tedious.) Or are things working fine for Y/you, just as they are? If there were further breakdowns into more categories than are currently offered, I think there would be a lot of issue with people having an even more difficult time finding compatible partners due to search parameter issues. Person A is looking for their soulmate, but wouldn't mind a little casual fetish-fulfillment while they search. What do they search for? Do they have to perform multiple searches, one for each goal? As I stated in another thread (cut and pasted for my own ease.) A label [in the scene] should imply, not define. To me this simply means that what someone identifies as does not guarantee X, Y, or Z behaviors, but suggests that they might be open to them and related activities with the right partner. For instance, D-type sees an interesting person of his/her preferred gender. Finding out they are an S-type IMPLIES that they could enjoy some form of relationship (scene, casual or LTR), but doesn't guarantee that S-type will happily do A, B and C. That doesn't mean the S-type is not a weal or twue whatever, just that the two people aren't personally compatible. (The same situation applies with the roles reversed.) Labels help narrow, but reliance on them can cause exclusion of what would be perfectly acceptable (or better) candidates due to semantic disagreement. Basic gist of this post? The label is less important than knowing what that label *means* to the labeler. -Corinne House Vigilante
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