Complicity Through Seeming Innocence

Sor Juana was aware that her intellectual freedom, however hard-won, depended on ecclesiastical institutions she could not fully oppose without losing everything. She navigated complicity with sophistication, acknowledging constraints while pushing boundaries. This concept addresses a dangerous form of privilege: the belief that because you did not personally construct an unjust system, you bear no responsibility for dismantling it. You did not invent patriarchy, colonialism, or caste, but you may be inheriting their benefits. Acknowledging privilege means moving beyond the claim of innocence to recognition of participation. Sor Juana's example shows this is not about self-flagellation but strategic clarity: you understand exactly which structures protect you so you can make deliberate choices about when to reinforce them and when to subtly undermine them. The privileged often confuse awareness with action, believing that seeing injustice absolves them of the harder work of changing their own complicit position.