Intellectual Women of Colonial Latin America : Week of 10.25
Why is it so threatening when a woman can speak her mind? Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz was, and still is, a prime example of how men felt threatened when a woman let her intellect be known. Sor Juana pushed the boundaries of everyday thinking, and felt free when she could learn, yet this frightened many of her male superiors. She was called a narcissist and a sinner for her poems and writings, and was even cowardly contested by the archbishop writing with a fake female name. Even today women struggle to break the glass ceiling without facing interference from males. whether it be in the workforce or over social media. I feel that the letters that Sor Juana had to respond to, were in many ways like hate comments on ones social media. There will never be a time where everyone is going to be free in their passionate pursuits, however we can hope for less cowardly objectors.
Thank you, Illy, for the post. You posed a good question and I agree that women were not supposed to speak their minds or to have any intellectual abilities. I was left wanting to read more about men as cowardly objectors - why do you suppose they were cowardly in chastising women, like Sor Juana?
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