Intellectual Lineage and Gendered Knowledge Inheritance

Sor Juana constructed her own intellectual genealogy through voracious reading, creating lineages with classical and contemporary thinkers despite institutional exclusion from formal education. This concept examines how cisgender identity shapes knowledge inheritance: men inherit explicit intellectual lineages, formal training, and recognized authority; women often must construct their own genealogies in fragments and margins. The concept of intellectual lineage reveals that cisgender identity is not only about present performance but about historical positioning—whether one is recognized as an heir to tradition or a newcomer. Sor Juana's self-education demonstrates both the possibility and the cost of claiming intellectual authority outside sanctioned pathways. Contemporary examination of cisgender identity through this lens reveals how women still report lacking mentors, missing role models, and struggling to feel they belong within established fields. This concept helps articulate why simply increasing women's participation is insufficient; the structure of knowledge inheritance itself must be questioned. Who teaches whom? Whose intellectual genealogy is visible? How do cisgender identity structures determine access to epistemic legitimacy across generations?