Intersectional Identity and Multiple Oppressions

Sor Juana lived at the intersection of gender, race (as a mixed-race woman in colonial Mexico), class, and religious authority—each creating distinct constraints on her freedom and recognition. Her life illuminates how children's rights cannot be addressed in isolation: a girl child faces different barriers than a boy child; an Indigenous child than a mestizo child; a poor child than a wealthy one. Intersectional analysis reveals that generic 'children's rights' frameworks often fail the most vulnerable. A child rights approach informed by Sor Juana's experience must examine how systems of domination overlap and compound. It means asking not just 'what do children need?' but 'which children are most excluded, and why?' It requires centering the voices and experiences of children navigating multiple marginalities. This concept demands that protection frameworks, educational systems, and justice processes account for the specific, layered realities children face. Only by recognizing intersecting identities can societies create rights protections that actually reach and serve all children, especially those with the least power.