The Right to Self-Definition and Identity

Sor Juana refused simple categorization: she was nun yet intellectual, woman yet scholar, colonial subject yet independent thinker, deeply faithful yet questioning. Her life embodies resistance to imposed identity. In libertarian justice, the right to self-definition is a core property right—you own your self-conception and presentation. When systems force identities upon people (woman as subordinate, colonial subject as inferior, religious vows as negating intellectual aspiration), they violate agency and appropriate the person's right to self-authorship. This concept extends beyond tolerance to active recognition of individuals' authority to define themselves. Applied today, this principle challenges rigid identity categories, opposes forced assimilation, defends diverse life paths, and resists state or institutional classification systems that override self-determination. Justice recognizes that each person is the legitimate author of their own identity narrative and life choices. Property in oneself begins with authority over self-definition.