When I wrote an advice column for LGBTQ youth, most of the questions I got were about labels, in some way or another. "Do you think this label fits me?" Or. "These are my experiences. What label do you think works best for me?" Or. "My friend uses this label, but I think this other label works better for them. What do you think?"

I tried to answer as best as I could that people find labels useful for growth and that's fine, but it's important to understand that human beings are far more complicated than the labels we use to identify ourselves.

Simpler still, we don't reduce to the labels we choose to wear.