Naming as an Act of Resistance

Sor Juana's choice to add 'Inés' to her name and adopt the title 'Décima Musa' (Tenth Muse) represented conscious acts of resistance against a system that would deny her intellectual legitimacy. Naming itself becomes political when dominant cultures attempt to erase, simplify, or distort how people identify. In multicultural societies, immigrants often face pressure to anglicize names, professionals from marginalized backgrounds encounter systematic mispronunciation, and colonized peoples reclaim traditional names erased by colonial systems. By insisting on their own names and titles, people assert dignity and refuse erasure. This framework recognizes that every act of naming—keeping a heritage name, creating a new identity, or demanding correct pronunciation—is potentially an act of resistance. Through Sor Juana's example, we understand that naming is not merely personal; it is deeply political and essential to justice.