Beyond the Isms: Choosing a Life Without Labels

In a world that loves to sort every idea into an “ism,” I’ve always felt like a sceptic. Whether it’s nationalism, capitalism, socialism, or even feminism, these labels feel like boxes that try to shrink the vastness of human experience into something narrow and rigid.

At first, “isms” seem helpful. They package beliefs, values, and approaches into neat words. But I’ve found that they carry too much baggage. They oversimplify reality and demand that I accept an entire package deal, whether or not every part of it resonates with me. And the moment I wear a label, it becomes the lens through which the world interprets me. I find that suffocating.

Take feminism, for example. I’m not against equality—far from it. But I feel that even an “ism” with the best of intentions can turn rigid. It can fail to capture the nuance of how I see the world. I can believe in gender equality without needing to declare myself a feminist, because the label often comes with assumptions about my worldview that I don’t share.

This tension shows up in spirituality, too. I do not believe in the existence of anyone above us, yet I listen to the Vishnu Sahasranamam. I love Carnatic and Hindustani classical music—songs steeped in devotion and surrender to deities. The beauty of these traditions moves me deeply, even though I don’t subscribe to the theology. I revere the immortal renditions of Vishnu Sahasranamam and Bhaja Govindam by M. S. Subbulakshmi, and I am equally moved by the innocence of young Ishaan Pai’s rendition produced by Kuldeep M. Pai. These works touch something within me that no label—atheist or theist—could ever explain.

And yet, the moment I say I’m not a theist, people rush to put me in the box of an atheist. If I say I’m not a nationalist, I’m branded anti-national. But why should rejecting one “ism” automatically force me into another? Why should my refusal to stand under one flag mean I’ve pledged allegiance to its opposite?

I see this as a problem of conditioning. Most human beings are driven into binary thinking from childhood—yes or no, believer or non-believer, left or right. It’s drilled into us that life must always be lived in opposites. But life is not binary. Life is layered, messy, paradoxical, and full of in-betweens. I live in those in-betweens, and I refuse to let an “ism” flatten that.

For me, rejecting all “isms” is not about rebellion for its own sake. It is about honouring the fluid, ever-changing nature of human thought. It is about questioning everything, including the very boxes we are told to step into. It is about living with values that are truly my own—not borrowed, not inherited, not packaged.

I don’t need an “ism” to tell me who I am—because the music of truth, like the voice of M. S. Subbulakshmi or the innocence of young Ishaan Pai, speaks louder to me than any label ever could.