Intersectional Oppression and Children's Multiple Vulnerabilities

Sor Juana lived at the intersection of being indigenous, female, intellectually ambitious, and institutionally dependent—each identity compounding her vulnerability and constraining her possibilities. Contemporary children's rights often address single dimensions of vulnerability without recognizing how oppressions multiply and interact. A Black girl child faces different risks than a white boy; a disabled child from a poor family experiences different barriers than a disabled child with resources; an immigrant child navigates distinct legal precarity. Sor Juana's lived complexity demands that children's rights frameworks become intersectional, examining how multiple identities create compounded disadvantage and how protection strategies must address systemic rather than individual failures. This means recognizing that a child may experience racism and sexism and economic exploitation simultaneously, requiring solutions that address all three rather than treating them separately. Children's advocates must follow Sor Juana's example of naming her own multiple positions and claiming full humanity across all of them. Intersectional children's rights means building systems that acknowledge how different children are differently vulnerable and designing protection accordingly.