Epistemic Justice and Gendered Credibility

Sor Juana's work was constantly subject to male ecclesiastical review, doubt, and dismissal—her theological arguments questioned, her personal testimony about her own intellectual drives doubted, her authority to speak on matters of knowledge and faith repeatedly undermined. This concept draws from contemporary epistemic justice theory to name how gendered credibility gaps operate: certain people are systematically heard as less authoritative, less reliable, less truthful based on gender. For those examining cisgender identity, this framework reveals that alignment with assigned sex doesn't guarantee being believed or heard—particularly for cisgender women challenging patriarchal authority. It shows that authentic identity requires asserting one's epistemic authority: the right to be heard, believed, and taken seriously about one's own experience and knowledge. This concept directs attention to internalized epistemic injustice—ways that cisgender individuals may have internalized doubts about their own perception and authority. Identity work includes reclaiming the right to trust one's own knowing and to demand that others do likewise, resisting systematic credibility gaps built into gendered institutions.