The Right to Self-Definition

Sor Juana insisted on defining herself as a thinker, poet, and intellectual despite Church and society labeling her primarily as a woman, a nun, or a colonial subject. This act of self-definition was radical and carried consequences. She claimed the right to complexity, refusing single identities that confined her. This concept examines the deep privilege of self-determination: the ability to author one's own narrative rather than being authored by systems of power. Most people throughout history have lacked this privilege entirely. Acknowledging this right requires recognizing that identity is not neutral—it is shaped by power structures that grant some people more freedom to define themselves than others. For modern practitioners, this means examining whose self-definitions are accepted as authoritative and whose are dismissed or pathologized. Sor Juana's example demonstrates that claiming the right to self-definition is both a privilege to acknowledge and an act of justice to extend to others who remain confined by imposed categories.