The distinction between names and identities assigned by colonizers, authorities, or tradition versus those individuals authentically claim for themselves.
Colonial naming practices stripped indigenous peoples of their original names and identities, replacing them with European alternatives that erased cultural continuity. Sor Juana herself navigated multiple imposed identities: nun, nun-poet, Mexican intellectual within Spanish institutions. Yet she carved space for self-definition through her writing and intellectual work. This concept explores how identity formation occurs within constraints of imposed naming systems. Names carry power—they can silence or amplify, erase or honor. Across cultures, individuals and communities face pressure to accept names given by dominant systems rather than those rooted in their heritage. Understanding this dynamic helps us recognize how identity struggles are fundamentally about naming rights: who gets to name whom, and whether people can reclaim or create names that reflect their authentic selves and cultural belonging.
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