it's not easy to be... (SATB divisi)
It's not easy to be... is inspired by the stories of individuals who were typecast into narrow, essentialised identities throughout their childhoods and youth. Many of us grow up being told who we are before we ever get the chance to decide for ourselves.
During my time studying English Linguistics in Junior College, one theory left a profound impact on me: Gordon Allport’s Labels of Primary Potency. Allport argues that once a person is placed into a socially salient category — whether gender, sexuality, race, or anything else — that label begins to dominate public perception. It eclipses their complexity, reducing them to a single trait and shutting out alternative ways of being seen. Instead of being recognised for their full, multi-layered humanity, they are viewed through the lens of whatever makes them “different”. That kind of reduction is isolating.
I found myself relating to this theory in a personal way and I know many others do too. Labelling and stereotyping remain deeply embedded in modern life. This song is a call to reclaim our identities, to resist the boxes imposed on us, and to insist on a world that sees people in their wholeness. In a time still shadowed by bigotry, it is vital that we stand for dignity, complexity, and egalitarianism.
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