A normal zebra

Or why labels can be good.

Hello,

I had a couple of interesting conversations recently about whether we need labels or not. They came about as I started showing my project Un(masking) at portfolio reviews (I’ll write separately about the benefits - and the dangers - of seeking feedback on your work-in-progress).

A few people I spoke to questioned (albeit gently) some of the ideas I had, saying we don’t need labels, that labels are harmful and surely we are all just human beings at the end of the day.

As a newly “labelled” autistic person that stung a bit. Let me explain.

If we lived in a different world, I’d be inclined to agree that labels aren’t necessary.

But we don’t. We live in the world designed by - and for - allistic (neurotypical) and able-bodied people (and this - among many other things - that make it rather broken).

And in this world, for many people having a label can be the difference between receiving understanding and patience, and being seen as lazy, unreliable or even unintelligent. It can be a dif…