The Right to Intellectual Authorship

Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz asserted her right to intellectual authorship in a society that denied women formal recognition of their ideas. This concept examines how names and identities become inseparable from the work one produces, and how cultural systems often erase or diminish authorship based on identity markers. Across cultures, marginalized groups have fought for the recognition that their intellectual contributions belong to them—that their name and ideas cannot be separated or appropriated. In our contemporary context, this principle challenges how credit is distributed in academia, business, and creative fields, ensuring that identities are properly honored when knowledge is shared or built upon. Sor Juana's legacy demonstrates that claiming authorship is an act of justice and self-determination.