Boxes, books, and brains

Who are we, really?

A while back, the New Yorker had a great article about identity related to revision of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, or DSM. Now in its fifth edition, it’s a publication of the American Psychiatric Association that lists all of the currently accepted conditions for both clinicians and insurers.

One of the issues about the revised DSM, explored in the article, is that many people who found belonging and understanding in their diagnosis no longer have that diagnosis, because the criteria changed, or the diagnosis went away all together. That’s not a big surprise, because we still know very little about how brains work. But it’s disorienting for people who moved from shame to pride about how their particular brain functioned in the world, and it means that some decisions about the DSM are made by advocacy rather than science.

Although I have a Generation X vibe to this newsletter, I am suspicious of labels. They limit people. I detest media that insists on talking about Americans as “Red” or “Blue” or “Purple”, because it’s exaggerating division. It’s eliding all the nuance about modern American life. Some of us fit stereotypes, but few of us fit all the boxes that people could try to put us on. Maybe if political pundits would stop talking about politics in terms of tribes, we could find middle ground on at least a few issues—and probably more. People are who they are, and that’s so cool.

Over the years, people have come to own identities that once would have been hidden. It amazes me how much time and energy families used to put into hiding gay relatives, relatives with different physical and mental disabilities, and children born out of wedlock. It turns out that every single family in the world has members who don’t fit some mold designed in 1946. Families are made up of humans, and humans are wildly diverse. That should be celebrated! All of that energy that went into covering up could have been put toward something truly productive, or at least toward love and community.

Some gay commentators like Andrew Sullivan complain that Pride has become too big, including too many people, while others are genuinely concerned about people who are persecuted because they don’t fit a box someone else designed for them.

And, of course, capitalism thrives on people’s identities, and not just when it comes to pride flags. Think about last week’s fashion story, that Millennials and Gen Z supposedly prefer different kinds of socks. There’s money to be made in getting people to replace their hosiery to fit the latest trend.

A quick look at my office would show that I am not good at finding places for all the things. I have shelves dedicated to specific projects, but then where do I put the things that are not categorized? On the floor, where they belong!

I mean, where should the books go?

What do you think about identities? Do you like this current trend of labeling generations, or not?