What is "labelling"

Label \La"bel\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Labeled (l[=a]"b[e^]ld) or Labelled; p. pr. & vb. n. Labeling or Labelling.]

1. To affix a label to; to mark with a name, etc.; as, to label a bottle or a package.

2. To affix in or on a label. [R.]

alt. (present participle of label English) n. (alternative form of labeling English) vb. (present participle of label English)

1. n. a brief description given for purposes of identification; "the label Modern is applied to many different kinds of architecture"

2. trade name of a company that produces musical recordings; "the artists and repertoire department of a recording label is responsible for finding new talent" [syn: recording label]

3. a radioactive isotope that is used in a compound in order to trace the mechanism of a chemical reaction

4. an identifying or descriptive marker that is attached to an object

5. v. assign a label to; designate with a label; "These students were labelled `learning disabled'"

6. attach a tag or label to; "label these bottles" [syn: tag, mark]

7. pronounce judgment on; "They labeled him unfit to work here" [syn: pronounce, judge]

8. distinguish (as a compound or molecule) by introducing a labeled atom

9. distinguish (an element or atom) by using a radioactive isotope or an isotope of unusual mass for tracing through chemical reactions

10. [also: labelling, labelled]

See label

Labelling or labeling is describing someone or something in a word or short phrase. For example, describing someone who has broken a law as a criminal. Labelling theory is a theory in sociology which ascribes labelling of people to control and identification of deviant behavior.

It has been argued that labelling is necessary for communication. However, the use of the term labelling is often intended to highlight the fact that the label is a description applied from the outside, rather than something intrinsic to the labelled thing. This can be done for several reasons:

• To provoke a discussion about what the best description is
• To reject a particular label
• To reject the whole idea that the labelled thing can be described in a short phrase.

This last usage can be seen as an accusation that such a short description is overly- reductive.

Giving something a label can be seen as positive, but the term label is not usually used in this case. For example, giving a name to a common identity is seen as essential in identity politics.

Labelling is often equivalent to pigeonholing or the use of stereotypes and can suffer from the same problems as these activities.

The labelling of people can be related to a reference group. For example, the labels black and white are related to black people and white people; the labels young and old are related to young people and old people.

The labelling of works of art can be related to genre. For example, a piece of music may be described as progressive rock or indie or ragga jungle drum and bass. However, there are other labels that can be applied to a work, such as derivative, low or high. The use of the word labelling is less common in the context of works of art than people. However, it also often represents the rejection of a label. For example, an artist may feel that the labeller is attempting to restrict the scope of the artist's work to that which is covered by the label.