“I see your true colors thought they appear to be different
You should never be afraid because your difference is the difference
We live in a world where to be yourself is hard
And the way you really feel can leave you emotional scar
But stay strong, stay firm, and never back down
Being yourself is the only way to act that
(Like a rainbow)
Trust me I’m a fighter and a lover
But the only time I fight is to reveal my true colors”
~ Artists Against Bullying, song: Like a Rainbow
Recently, a colleague of mine at Elephant Journal, Alex Myles, wrote the article Miley Cyrus and the Gender (Head) F*ck, a brilliantly thoughtful message about the effects of labeling and what Ms. Cyrus is doing about it.
Here are a few poignant quotes from that post:
“Miley has spoken of her feelings in a recent interview, ‘I didn’t want to be a boy,’ she explained to Out Magazine, ‘I kind of wanted to be nothing. I don’t relate to what people would say defines a girl or a boy, and I think that’s what I had to understand: Being a girl isn’t what I hate, it’s the box that I get put into.’
So, when someone announces they want to be free from labels and want to be ‘nothing,’ all the stories jump straight on the bandwagon of labelling her as something that fits into a tidy box! Stories are now going viral running with headlines such as ‘Miley Cyrus Genderqueer? Singer Reveals Her Gender Identity And Sexuality’ and ‘Miley Cyrus May Have Come Out As Genderqueer And Bisexual.’
The whole point in Miley stating that she doesn’t want a label is so that others who are not yet accepted can one day find the same freedom.
I applaud the stand that this young artist is making. Alex is right, putting a label on someone who does not wish to be labelled is utter madness. I think that journalists everywhere could learn a thing or two from the way Alex presents important headlines; with sensitivity to the subject at hand.”
But this is the world we live in, where brave and unselfish acts are taken out of context and sensationalized as something they’re not.
Why do I care?
please read more @ http://www.elephantjournal.com/2015/05/true-colors-the-danger-of-homogenizing-our-identity/