The Right to Self-Definition

Sor Juana claimed the authority to define her own intellectual vocation despite colonial society's restrictions on women's learning. Self-definition becomes radical when systems of privilege have historically controlled how marginalized groups are named and understood. Acknowledging privilege means recognizing how those with power have claimed the right to categorize and label others, often invisibly. This concept invites us to examine: Who gets to define reality? Whose definitions are treated as universal? Sor Juana's insistence on her identity as an intellectual—not merely a nun, not merely a woman—was an act of claiming definitional power. For contemporary practice, acknowledging privilege requires restoring to others the authority to define their own experience rather than accepting the categories privilege has imposed. This is not neutral; it challenges whose voice counts as authoritative.