I feel like this is kinda busted in a taxonomic sense. My understanding an “umbrella” in categorization is that things underneath it are unified by fulfilling specific criteria, such that you can call them the same in that sense. Gorillas and chimpanzees are different species, but they’re both primates and can be referred to as such. Primates and rodents are different orders, but they’re both mammals and can be referred to as such. Rectangle and square, boat and ship, all that jazz. I wonder what the utility of using that kind of hierarchy is in the case that you can’t group them like that, which seems to be what the graphic is saying.
I suppose the counter argument is that it doesn’t need to be consistent if it feels right? I’ve heard the sentiment (on here, as it happens!) that labels ought to function more as beacons than walls, to attract other people who feel generally the same way rather than exclude people on a more rigid “objective” basis. Still, I feel like any attempt to categorize like this throws that out the window by necessity.
sorry to dump all this where it probably wasn’t expected but this really got my brain turning on the matter and would like to hear what other people think
what we have here is an attempt to integrate two principles, namely A) sexual self identification ought to be respected and B) sexual labels have specific, universal meanings which do not depend on the feelings of particular individuals.
Now, clearly these principles are mutually exclusive, but because they’re often unspoken, we tacitly try to adhere to both of them.
I feel like this is kinda busted in a taxonomic sense. My understanding an “umbrella” in categorization is that things underneath it are unified by fulfilling specific criteria, such that you can call them the same in that sense. Gorillas and chimpanzees are different species, but they’re both primates and can be referred to as such. Primates and rodents are different orders, but they’re both mammals and can be referred to as such. Rectangle and square, boat and ship, all that jazz. I wonder what the utility of using that kind of hierarchy is in the case that you can’t group them like that, which seems to be what the graphic is saying.
I suppose the counter argument is that it doesn’t need to be consistent if it feels right? I’ve heard the sentiment (on here, as it happens!) that labels ought to function more as beacons than walls, to attract other people who feel generally the same way rather than exclude people on a more rigid “objective” basis. Still, I feel like any attempt to categorize like this throws that out the window by necessity.
sorry to dump all this where it probably wasn’t expected but this really got my brain turning on the matter and would like to hear what other people think
what we have here is an attempt to integrate two principles, namely A) sexual self identification ought to be respected and B) sexual labels have specific, universal meanings which do not depend on the feelings of particular individuals.
Now, clearly these principles are mutually exclusive, but because they’re often unspoken, we tacitly try to adhere to both of them.