Intersectional Rights and Multiple Oppressions

Sor Juana's struggle was not against sexism alone but against the intersection of gender oppression, religious institutional control, colonial hierarchies, and class constraints. As a woman in a patriarchal society, she faced specific restrictions; as a scholar in an ecclesiastical system threatened by independent thought, she faced institutional censorship; as a Creole in colonial Mexico, she navigated complex racial-colonial hierarchies. Intersectional analysis reveals that her rights were violated in ways that cannot be reduced to any single axis of identity. Modern human rights frameworks increasingly recognize intersectionality: a Black woman faces oppression that is not simply the sum of racism plus sexism but a distinct system that requires understanding how these systems interact. Single-issue rights advocacy often fails people positioned at multiple margins. Sor Juana's example shows that comprehensive human rights frameworks must analyze how different systems of oppression reinforce each other and develop integrated strategies addressing compounded vulnerabilities. This prevents frameworks from advancing some people's rights while leaving others behind.