The insight that parental identity can only authentically develop in conditions of material and social justice—showing how inequality distorts parenthood itself.
Sor Juana lived under multiple constraints: gender, colonial subjection, religious obedience. She became herself through strategies of argument, wit, and intellectual work, but always against resistance. Many parents today face similar structural barriers: economic precarity, lack of healthcare, housing instability, systemic racism, insufficient leave or childcare, or the erasure of non-traditional family forms. These conditions do not simply make parenthood harder; they distort what parenthood can become. A parent working three jobs cannot be present; a parent facing medical discrimination cannot advocate fully for their child; a parent in poverty cannot model dignity. Sor Juana's work on justice illuminates how true parental identity requires conditions of dignity, agency, and recognition. This concept refuses to frame parental struggles as merely individual or psychological, instead naming structural injustice as the real obstacle to becoming the parent one seeks to be.
Peri can explain this concept, give practical examples, help you decide whether it applies to your situation, or recommend a journey if appropriate.
Explore related journeys or tell Peri what you're working through.