

You might be thinking "so what?" if people want to label themselves then it's their right and there should be no problem with that.
Don't label me and I won't label you
My problem with labels, is that I've seen an increasing number of people using these to help them determine who they like to associate with, who they want to befriend or who they want their kids to befriend. I've seen labels used to make assumptions, used to make moms feel bad, and labels defined clearly enough to exclude people. I've seen members of "natural moms" groups hide that their spouse smokes cigarettes, or moms who feel they have to explain why breastfeeding didn't work out beyond XYZ weeks for their child. As if they'll be disinvited if they can't check "yes" to all questions on a parenting checklist that doesn't and shouldn't exist. For the most part, ALL the labels are made up. Some have come to have been "defined" by Dr Sears or Dr Phil or whomever, but in reality, YOU know in your heart what type of a parent you are and you shouldn't feel pressured to conform to or disclude yourself from any given label.
This is not to bash you for labeling yourselves. I do know that in a world where we all spend a lot of time online that it helps us meet like-minded people. I just wanted to point out that your definition of "natural" or "attachment" or "babywearing" may not be the same as someone else's and that's OKAY. So, is anyone else as sensitive to the whole "labeling" phenomenon or is it just me?
Signed,
Julie
Co-sleeping, Breastfeeding, Hunting, Fishing, Tattooed, Geocaching, Cloth Diapering, Non-vaxing, Public Schooling, Mini-van driving, Hospital Birthing, Epidural having, Flip-flop wearing, Bleach Blonde blogging mama! (j/k of course!)