The Privilege of Self-Definition

Others tried to define Sor Juana: as a curiosity, a possession, a threat, a saint, a cautionary tale. Through her writing—poems, essays, letters—she insisted on self-definition. She named her own intellectual projects, defended her own choices, articulated her own understanding of her life. This was a privilege because most people, especially women in her position, had no such authority over their own narrative. Self-definition requires access to language, to platforms for expression, to an audience willing to listen. Sor Juana's pen gave her this privilege, but it was constantly under threat. Her writings could be censored, reinterpreted, or suppressed. This concept examines how privilege includes the right to author your own story rather than having it written by others. It asks: who gets to define themselves? Whose narratives are respected? Acknowledging the privilege of self-definition means recognizing that marginalized people often have their identities imposed upon them and must fight for the right to speak their own truth.