The Convent as Identity Sanctuary

Sor Juana entered the convent partly to escape marriage and pursue intellectual life—a choice that reveals how cisgender identity, even when aligned with assignment, can be lived differently through institutional alternatives. The convent created space for her to live as an assigned female who chose intellectual celibacy over domestic roles typically demanded of cisgender women. This concept examines how institutions can become sanctuaries where cisgender identity is performed and lived in ways that diverge from normative expectations. For contemporary life, this asks: what spaces allow you to express your cisgender identity authentically rather than through prescribed roles? What institutional or communal structures protect alternative ways of living out assigned gender? How do we create modern convents—places of refuge where cisgender identity doesn't mean conformity?