Complicity and Consciousness in Dominant Identity

Sor Juana was aware that while she suffered injustice, she also occupied positions of relative privilege as a highly educated creole woman in colonial Mexico. This concept invites cisgender individuals to practice similar consciousness: recognizing that while cisgender identity itself is neutral, cisgender individuals often benefit from systems that marginalize transgender and non-binary people. This is not about shame but about clarity and responsibility. By examining one's complicity in gender systems—through the language used, the spaces centered, the assumptions reinforced—individuals can make more just choices. Sor Juana's model suggests that intellectual honesty requires acknowledging one's position within power structures while still insisting on one's own dignity and rights. For cisgender individuals, this means holding both truths: claiming the right to examine and define oneself while recognizing complicity in structures that deny others the same freedom.