We live in a society that is defined by short characterisations of ourselves and instant downloads of information. LinkedIn headlines. Twitter/X and Instagram bios in less than 160 characters. Everywhere you look, we’re selling elevator pitches of ourselves to the world.
It’s fashionable not to judge people, yet judgement is everywhere. We see a one or two-word phrase on someone’s Instagram bio and immediately make an assumption or judgement about what they believe or how they conduct themselves. We have all sorts of preconceptions that stop us from getting to know individual people beyond the labels.
Yet, there are different ways of being one thing. Within one category or identity, people will hold different opinions and different values on various topics. Someone could be a doctor or a nurse or an Instagram mum or an actor, or multiple of these roles, and have completely different opinions about a really big issue within their industry/world – or even broader society itself - compared to someone else in the same position.
At first glance, you might think they were the same because they’ve got the same label but actually, they have completely different ideas about things. So, I want to break that down and push through these pre-conceptions.
The ‘Perspectives’ interview series will demonstrate the breadth and depth of people and their views beyond their labels and the accompanying stereotypes. I’ll be interviewing different people from across categories and labels, and within categories and labels to show that heterogeneity. This isn’t to say there aren’t widely held or similar views or feelings – there inevitably are! I just want to move towards a less assumption-based world, where we stop and get to know the people we come across instead of jumping to conclusions.
I’m excited for you to join me on this journey of understanding humanity in a different way – and I’m definitely open to suggestions and recommendations of people and labels to explore.
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