Notes
This episode is paired with the lesson Identity and Labels: Part One.
Summary
Blake is an Inclusion Advisor at BYU with the Office of Student Success. Helping students navigate being in the LGBTQ community while at BYU has given him a unique perspective on labels and how to identify when labels are helping us or hurting us.
Blake elaborates on his job at BYU (3:10) why people feel the need to label themselves even though it can be stressful (6:30) and the difference between prescriptive and descriptive labels (10:15). In the tension of navigating same-sex attraction we can find the Savior (12:40) and learn how to sit with others in their own tensions rather than trying to solve their problems. Host David Steele describes an identity activity from the new curriculum (16:35) and talks with Blake about finding what is beautiful and strong in others (26:50) and how Blake finds ways to strengthen his relationship with Christ (29:09).
“If someone says, ‘historically I’ve always kept to myself and I like to recharge on my own,’ they would describe their past pattern as being an introvert. If they used that label prescriptively it would be, ‘because I’m an introvert I can’t get this job or I can’t go to this party….’ Then the label introvert dictates the choices they make in the future rather than describing their past pattern… I try to help [people] see that there are some advantages to using a word descriptively but there are some limitations that creep in when that word starts becoming a prescriptive path.”