Gendered Name-Erasure and Reclamation

Sor Juana's works were lost, suppressed, or credited to others for centuries. Women across cultures experience systematic name-erasure: their intellectual contributions forgotten, their names changed through marriage, their creative work attributed to male relatives. This concept examines how patriarchal systems use naming itself as a tool of domination. A woman who takes her husband's name may lose professional identity; a female author published anonymously disappears from history; a daughter's achievements become part of the father's legacy. Reclamation involves recovering original names, documenting women's work under their own authorship, and rejecting naming conventions that erase identity. It means honoring maiden names, preserving maiden narratives, and demanding historical accuracy. Sor Juana's rediscovery as a thinker required scholars to seek out her suppressed work and challenge the narratives that diminished her. This principle applies across cultures wherever patriarchal inheritance systems use naming to consolidate power and erase women's agency, creativity, and intellectual contributions from collective memory.