The act of choosing, claiming, or defending one's name as a form of resistance and assertion of identity against cultural erasure or imposed identities.
Sor Juana's full name—Juana Inés de Asuaje y Ramírez de Santillana—contained genealogical, geographic, and familial markers that positioned her within colonial hierarchies. Yet she claimed the identity of 'Sor Juana,' asserting intellectual and spiritual authority through her chosen designation. This concept explores how names function as declarations of selfhood, particularly for those whose identities have been colonized, marginalized, or restricted by dominant cultures. Names carry the weight of ancestry, resistance, and aspiration. Across cultures, the right to name oneself—or to reclaim ancestral names—represents a fundamental act of autonomy and justice. In multicultural societies today, this principle illuminates why forced name changes, anglicization, or erasure constitute injustices, and why name-claiming movements represent deeper struggles for recognition and power.
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