The recognition that what counts as valid knowledge, who is authorized to know it, and how it circulates are all shaped by power systems that intersect around gender, race, class, and status.
Sor Juana's knowledge—vast in theology, mathematics, philosophy, languages—was questioned precisely because it came from a woman, a person of mixed racial descent, in a colonial setting. The authorities didn't dispute her accuracy; they disputed her right to know and teach. This reveals a crucial intersectional insight: knowledge itself is not neutral. Who gets to be an expert, whose research is funded, which questions are considered legitimate, whose lived experience counts as data—all are political. Women's ways of knowing, Indigenous knowledge systems, and working-class expertise are often dismissed or stolen. In practice, intersectionality means: validating multiple knowledge forms, questioning credentialing systems, supporting knowledge-makers from marginalized groups, and recognizing that what you know depends partly on your social position. It means asking: whose knowledge is centered, and whose is erased?
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