Our first label is assigned at birth—male or female. Then comes our name, defining what we’ll be called, followed by our last name, which ties us to our origins—unless you’re a woman, in which case the bureaucracy of patriarchal systems may erase it. From there, more labels follow: nationality, race, ethnicity, gender identity, and an official ID number. These classifications shape how society perceives us.

Some labels expire. Others must be earned. Temporary. Conditional. Permanent. Identity is no longer self-defined but assigned, shifting at the discretion of systems that determine who belongs and who does not. Even those with deep roots in one place may find their origins rewritten, their history erased or replaced by another.

Yet, nowhere in this process are we labeled human—because that’s supposed to be a given. Or is it?