I sometimes wonder if the benefits of labels and identities outweigh the drawbacks. Many of us take great strength and comfort from our various identities. Whether they are linked to gender, race, class, age, or a hobby or interest, being able to identify a community of people who have shared experience, and feeling like you are part of that community can make the difference between surviving and not.
But these same identities and labels are undeniably narrowing, and they often influence major parts of our lives.
Today's sex question comes from someone who identifies as bisexual, and who seems to be quite happy with how that's going; but who is now afraid of what it means if her boyfriend might be bisexual too. She has a lot of concrete concerns, but in reading her question and formulating my answer I couldn't help but think that many of the things that make her situation difficult have to do with the label and the identity category, and not the experience she's living.
Read More: Will My Bisexual Boyfriend Leave Me?
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