The Courage to Ask Wrong Questions

Sor Juana's willingness to question theological authority, challenge male intellectuals, and explore ideas beyond prescribed bounds risked her safety and security. In intersectional practice, this concept recognizes that learning to think intersectionally requires asking questions that destabilize comfortable frameworks. Some questions feel 'wrong' because they reveal uncomfortable truths about how systems work, how privilege operates, how we ourselves participate in oppression. This might mean asking why certain people's voices are centered, examining one's own internalized biases, or questioning whether 'solutions' actually serve those most impacted. The courage to ask wrong questions—to think beyond what seems settled—is essential to intersectional work. Sor Juana teaches that intellectual integrity sometimes requires risking safety, that protecting comfortable narratives is not worth the cost to honest thought and actual justice.