[limey]

Without the short-hand of labels wouldn't we all go nuts trying to work out what's going on with who?
Without the labels, wouldn't we all forever be making huge social gaffes? (Making a pass at a bloke I've just been introduced to by a woman friend of mine only to discover later that they're in an exclusive sexual relationship, for example?)
Can't you just take the labels as a short and definitely non-comprehensive starting point for identifying that person's place in the social grouping your moving in?
The label I object to most is not the relationship one, but the job one. Speaking as someone who has relatively often taken jobs that are a long way from defining me and my interests I found it hard to be defined as a hospital cleaner or an insurance broker. Neither of these terms were/are adequate descriptions of the person I am.
Yes, I know this post contradicts itself ....