Mestizaje as Epistemological Resource

Sor Juana, as a mestiza in colonial Mexico, inhabited multiple cultural and intellectual worlds: indigenous, Spanish, Catholic, scientific, literary. Rather than viewing this hybridity only as marginalizing, this concept frames mestizaje—mixing, in-betweenness—as an epistemological resource: a position from which to see across boundaries and synthesize different ways of knowing. In intersectional practice, this means recognizing that people navigating multiple cultural, linguistic, or intellectual traditions often develop sophisticated abilities to translate, synthesize, and challenge false binaries. A person of mixed race, for example, may see patterns of racism invisible to monoracial people; a bilingual person learns that meaning shifts across languages; an immigrant holds comparison between societies. These are not deficits but distinctive intelligences. However, this concept must not be romanticized: the ability to navigate multiple worlds often comes from necessity and carries stress. Recognizing mestizaje as epistemological resource means valuing these insights while also advocating for resources and recognition, not expecting marginalized people to be uniquely wise simply from suffering.