Intersectionality of Domination Systems

Sor Juana lived within overlapping systems of oppression—patriarchy, religious authority, colonial hierarchy. Modern animal ethics increasingly recognizes that the same logic justifying exploitation spans gender, race, and species. Patriarchal systems that devalue women's bodies and minds employ parallel strategies against animals: treating them as property, denying their intelligence, naturalizing their subordination. Colonial projects that enslaved humans also extracted resources through animal exploitation. Sor Juana's multiple marginalities—woman, creole, intellectual, challenging authority—position her to see how domination systems interconnect. A truly liberatory framework cannot exclude animal consideration from justice projects. Feminist thinkers now examine how control over women's reproduction mirrors control over animal breeding; how consumption of women's labor parallels consumption of animal bodies. Recognizing intersectionality means refusing to fight only for human rights while accepting animal oppression. It means understanding that the liberation Sor Juana championed must extend to all beings trapped in hierarchies of domination and use.