Little Boxes on the Hillside

To unravel the mystery of why society attempts to place us into little boxes is like trying to decipher why a man has an erection from watching a stripper but wants his wife to dress like a nun. It makes absolutely no sense.

When I posed the question as to what “box” a new acquaintance of mine placed me in, his reply was muddled. It was simply though. He couldn't really define me in one simple word but instead chose to name each of the 6 sides of the box. This confounded me tremendously. Why do we as individuals hate being summed up in one single word yet go out and do the same to others? Can a single word be used to define us? Are we, who are composed of billions of cells, described as single cell organisms- gas or non-gas producing bacteria?

It all begins in the early stages of life. You enter school and immediately your school decides if you go to the “smart” A class or the “average” B class. You are suddenly being characterised based on your intelligence. From there it is further broken down based on the choices you make. Either you are artistic, mathematical, a bully, a victim, strong, weak, sporty and the list goes on. If you find an exception to the rule, someone who is both nerdy and sporty, things get confusing.

The concept of “cliques” has been so worn out. Millions of movies have tackled the problem always ending with everyone getting on as one big happy family. Bearing this in mind, why are we still being fitted into little boxes and told where we belong in the fabric of society? We are told not to mess with the system, obey the rules and live out our lives. Why not challenge this. We are all different people, multi-faceted as the face of a conflict-free diamond. We are beautiful, crazy and sometimes scary and exhibiting signs of being a nymphomaniac. That aside we all have something different to bring to the table and definitely more than one thing.

Not wanting to sound like a motivational speaker begging you to break the mould, I’d like to point out that at times being defined is helpful. Many people crave belonging and look out for a label. Something that makes them feel like other people and helps them in finding their place in society. I don’t have anything against such people and firmly believe that anything which can prevent the girl with the vibrator fetish from wanting to electrocute herself, based on the fear that she will never find someone to equal her passion, is good and should be encouraged.

So while I don’t approve of society moving in reverse and continuing with the baseless labelling, I do feel that to a point it is helpful. We just shouldn't make it habitual. We shouldn't judge a person based on what we see on first time basis. The box in which we mentally place people in is usually vastly inaccurate in relation to the secrets they keep in their closest- skeletons and whips included.

I am reminded of a song:

“Little boxes on the hillside,
Little boxes made of ticky tacky,
Little boxes on the hillside,
Little boxes all the same.
There's a green one and a pink one 
And a blue one and a yellow one,
And they're all made out of ticky tacky
And they all look just the same.”

I think in today’s day and age we all greatly respect our individuality and as a result I firmly believe that our children will not be indoctrinated by this baseless idea of boxing themselves and others based on a single characteristic that stands out from the rest. We should all be peace loving hippies without fear of showing the world who we are (unless you are a necrophiliac- keep that to yourself)