The Right to Self-Definition

Sor Juana resisted being defined solely as a nun, a servant, a muse, or a subordinate. She insisted on defining herself as a scholar, writer, and intellectual—categories not designated for women of her time. Libertarian justice includes the right to self-definition: the ownership of one's own identity and social meaning. When institutions, families, or societies impose definitions—assigning roles based on gender, status, or origin—they commit an act of property violation against the self. Sor Juana's self-definition was an economic and philosophical claim: her identity belonged to her, not to those who would use her for their purposes. This concept challenges the way power structures assign identities and roles without consent, effectively seizing ownership of a person's social existence. True freedom requires the right to define oneself, to choose one's roles and meanings, and to resist imposed categories. Self-definition is a prerequisite for all other forms of property ownership and freedom, because without control over one's own identity, no other freedom is meaningful.