Linguistic Precision as Identity Resistance

Sor Juana's baroque poetry employs linguistic complexity and precision to resist simple categorization and assert intellectual authority. Applied to cisgender identity, this concept suggests that careful language use itself becomes a practice of resistance and clarification. Rather than accepting imprecise terms like "normal" or "natural" for cisgender identity, linguistic precision requires distinguishing between biological sex, gender identity, gender expression, and social assignment. This rigor prevents cisgender identity from remaining vague and therefore unexamined. Sor Juana's linguistic strategy shows that words are sites of power—how we name gender shapes what we can think about it. Cisgender people often rely on imprecise language that conflates biological categories with social identity, obscuring the constructed nature of cisgender experience. By adopting Sor Juana's commitment to linguistic precision, one can examine cisgender identity more rigorously, distinguishing between aspects that feel natural, chosen, performed, or imposed.