There is a longstanding debate about the harms and benefits of appealing to identities and using identity labels in social, political, and academic contexts. While there are potential harms with both labeling lacunae and with using labels, by considering the interplay of power, the interests and epistemic positions of the powerful and marginalized, and the role self-labeling plays, I argue that the introduction and usage of labels for both dominant and marginalized identities can bring important benefits and that strategies can be taken to mitigate harms. This shows, at a minimum, that blanket claims that identity terms are destructive or that identity labels do more bad than good are too strong.