The Right to Complexity in Self-Naming

Sor Juana was simultaneously nun and intellectual, Spanish and indigenous-identified, politically submissive and intellectually radical, devout and skeptical. She refused to resolve these contradictions into a coherent, singular identity. This concept asserts the right to complexity in naming oneself—a right often denied to those from marginalized communities who are pressured to choose, simplify, and adopt names that fit dominant categories. When individuals from multiple cultures, mixed heritage, or complex lived experience are forced to select one identity, they lose essential dimensions of themselves. Sor Juana's example shows that genuine justice in identity naming requires acknowledging and protecting the right to contradiction, ambiguity, and multiplicity. In contemporary settings, this principle becomes crucial for individuals navigating diaspora, mixed-race identity, religious or secular transitions, and intersecting oppressions. The right to complexity in self-naming is a right to intellectual and existential wholeness.