Relationship Ambiguity - Boyfriend & Girlfriend?

Our need to define and label relationships begins way before we become adults or even teenagers. Particularly for women. For starters, I recall the "best friend" necklaces that caused so many fights as a child, because they forced us kids to pick one best friend and share a broken necklace with them. There were "best friends" and "second best friends" and "best-est friends". Deep down, we were craving to be identified as that one special friend in someone else's life. To be placed above all other friends and feel important, wanted and cared for.

I don't know if boys did this as children, or if they just wanted to be well-liked in general. I know that as adults, women are usually the ones that want to label romantic relationships whereas men typicall prefer to hold off on defining things. Part of it could be evolutionary, with the woman needing the security of one man to be the father of her children, and the man wanting to spread his seed wherever possible.

In the past few years, I've come to both love and hate labels. Whether they define relationships, personal acheivements, beliefs, or whatever. I've learned that labels lead to all sorts of expectations and pre-conceived notions. And labels can rob an individual of his/her uniqueness or force a relationship to comply with certain standards. I know that I am a stronger person when I don't rely on lables to define me. Labels such as my job title, my physical/mental health conditions, my relationship status or something as simple as the "label" on my handbag. I see many people who use designer labels to help establish a sense of identity and status. I'm just me and I'm fluid and I change as I go through life and experience different things. The more self-awareness I have and the more honest I am about my feelings and needs, the less I need a label for a sense of security and identity.