The Politics of Self-Definition

Sor Juana refused the identities imposed by colonial patriarchy—claiming intellectual authority despite being defined as 'woman,' 'colonial subject,' and 'nun.' She insisted on her own terms for understanding herself and her work. Intersectionality centers this politics of self-definition: the right of marginalized people to name their own identities, experiences, and intellectual contributions rather than accepting dominant labels. Systems of oppression depend on controlling how marginalized people understand themselves; self-definition is therefore liberation work. This concept validates practices where marginalized communities gather to articulate their own frameworks, reject imposed narratives, and claim language that honors their complexity. It recognizes that identity categories themselves—race, gender, class, sexuality—are political territories where oppressive power operates. Practitioners committed to intersectionality protect spaces where marginalized people define themselves, knowing that this self-directed meaning-making is foundational to liberation. This work includes reclaiming language, creating new terms, and refusing identities that diminish full humanity.