LGBT rights

The LGBT community has been gaining some rights in the first years of the 21st century. On 29 April 2003, the Federal Law to Prevent and Eliminate Discrimination was passed. The law, which has been criticized as insufficient, gives rise to the creation of the

National Council to Prevent Discrimination The National Council to Prevent Discrimination ( es, Consejo Nacional para Prevenir La Discriminación; CONAPRED) is a Mexican government agency created in 2003 by Federal Law to Prevent and Eliminate Discrimination and to promote policies and mea ...

(Consejo Nacional para Prevenir la Discriminación, CONAPRED), which is in charge of receiving and settling cases of discrimination, as well as "develop ngactions to protect all citizens from every distinction or exclusion based on ethnic or national origin, sex, age, disability, social or economic condition, conditions of health, pregnancy, language, religion, beliefs, sexual preferences, marital status or any other, that prevents or annuls the acknowledgement or the exercise of the rights and the real equality of opportunities of persons". In November 2006, the Law for Coexistence Partnerships was enacted in the Federal District. Called "gay law" in the mass media, this legal arrangement is not orientated exclusively to the homosexual population. The law, in effect since its publication in the official newspaper of the capital city government on 16 March 2007, gives almost the same rights as a married couple within the limits of the Federal District, with the exception of adoption. The first Mexican state to legalize same-sex civil unions was Coahuila on 11 January 2007, under the name of "civil solidarity agreement". The Coahuilan congress modified the civil code to introduce the new form of cohabitation. The law allows similar rights to marriage but prohibits adoption by same-sex couples. On March 4, 2010, Mexico City's law allowing same-sex marriage took effect, despite an appeal by the Attorney-General of the Republic, making Mexico the first Latin American country to allow same-sex marriage by non-judicial means. On 12 March 2010, Mexico City held its first same-sex wedding, which will be recognized throughout the Mexican territory. In spite of these advances, in 2006, the Mexican population was primarily against

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...

. In a survey by Parametría, 61% of those surveyed responded "no" when asked if they supported an amendment to the constitution to legalize gay marriage. Only some 17% responded affirmatively, and some 14% did not give an opinion. In the same survey, some 41% were against the possibility of giving the same rights enjoyed by a married couple to a registered same-sex couple, and only 28% supported this possibility.

LGBT movement

LGBT people in Mexico have organized in a variety of ways: through local organizations, marches, and the development of a Commission to Denounce Hate Crimes. Mexico has a thriving

LGBT movement Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) movements are social movements that advocate for LGBT people in society. Some focus on equal rights, such as the ongoing movement for same-sex marriage, while others focus on liberation, as in the ...

with organizations in various large cities throughout the country and numerous LGBT publications, most prominently in Mexico City, Guadalajara, Monterrey,

Tijuana Tijuana ( ,"Tijuana"
(US) and < ...

, and Puebla. The vast majority of these publications exist at the local level, with national efforts often falling apart before they take root.Padilla, p. 208.

Societal prejudices and terminologies

Anthropologist Joseph M. Carrier suggests that, unlike the U.S., in Mexico, a man's masculine gender and heterosexual identity are not threatened by a homosexual act as long as he plays the inserter's role. The terms used to refer to homosexual Mexican men are generally coded with gendered meaning drawn from the inferior position of women in patriarchal Mexican society. The most benign of the contemptuous terms is '' maricón'', a label that highlights the non-conforming gender attributes of the (feminine) homosexual man, equivalent to

sissy ''Sissy'' (derived from '' sister''), also ''sissy baby'', ''sissy boy'', ''sissy man'', ''sissy pants'', etc., is a pejorative term for a boy or man who does not demonstrate masculine, and shows possible signs of fragility. Generally, ''sissy'' ...

or fairy in

American English American English, sometimes called United States English or U.S. English, is the set of varieties of the English language native to the United States. English is the most widely spoken language in the United States and in most circumstances i ...

.Carrier, p. 541. However, to most Mexicans (gay or straight), the term maricón is highly offensive and is more an equivalent to the Canadian or American term "faggot". Terms such as '' joto'' or '' puto'', on the other hand, speak to the passive sexual role taken by these men rather than merely their gender attributes, according to Carrier. However, to the average Mexican, "joto" or "puto" is highly pejorative and has nothing to do with sexual roles (top or bottom). "Puto" can also refer to a guy who sells himself for money. They are more derogatory and vulgar in that they underscore the sexually non-conforming nature of their passive/receptive position in the homosexual act. The invective associated with all these appellations speaks to the way effeminate homosexual men are viewed as having betrayed the Mexican man's prescribed gender and sexual role. There are also some regional variants such as ''leandro'', ''lilo'', '' mariposón'', and ''

puñal Puñal is a city in Santiago Province. Puñal became a rural section of the municipality of Santiago de los Caballeros Santiago de los Caballeros (; '' en, Saint James of the Knights''), often shortened to Santiago, is the second-largest city ...

'', among others.Haggerty, p. 910. Carrier also suggests that homosexuality is rigidly circumscribed by the prominent role the family plays in structuring homosexual activity. In Mexico, the traditional family remains a crucial institution that defines both gender and

sexual relations Human sexual activity, human sexual practice or human sexual behaviour is the manner in which humans experience and express their sexuality. People engage in a variety of sexual acts, ranging from activities done alone (e.g., masturbation) t ...

between men and women. The concealment, suppression, or prevention of any open acknowledgment of homosexual activity underscores the stringency of culture surrounding gender and sexual norms in Mexican family life. Overall, however, men and women who self-identify as homosexuals in urban areas have created

social network A social network is a social structure made up of a set of social actors (such as individuals or organizations), sets of dyadic ties, and other social interactions between actors. The social network perspective provides a set of methods for ...

s and found public spaces for

socialization In sociology, socialization or socialisation (see spelling differences) is the process of internalizing the norms and ideologies of society. Socialization encompasses both learning and teaching and is thus "the means by which social and cul ...

without much social interference. Because of Mexican expectations that sexual differences be dealt with "sexual silence" and fear of discrimination in the family, school, and workplace, it is common for gay men and lesbians to be cautious in disclosing their sexual orientation. Leading "

double lives A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another. Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to: Film and television * Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character * Th ...

" is often seen as necessary to ensure that one's connections with the non-homosexual world remain intact.

Public opinion

Some 71% of Mexican youth would not approve if the same rights were given to homosexuals as heterosexuals. A 2006 survey states that 33% of Mexicans feel aversion for homosexuals, some 40% don't like politicians who emphasize homosexuality, and some 32% don't like homosexual neighbors. Homophobia is also deeply rooted in the family. In 2004, only four families of those murdered in homophobic crimes, of a total of 26, offered to give information on the matter to an investigation commission. In Mexico City, in 2004, of 125 corpses of homosexuals, only 75 were claimed by their relatives; for thirteen others, the family came only to the identification; the family of the rest did not approach the

funeral home A funeral home, funeral parlor or mortuary, is a business that provides burial and funeral services for the dead and their families. These services may include a prepared wake and funeral, and the provision of a chapel for the funeral. Services ...

, despite having been informed. There exist signs that Mexican youth are being committed to psychiatric clinics after coming out to their family. Some 16% have been rejected by family, and a greater percentage have been physically attacked by relatives. Popular culture encourages this attitude. The rock group Molotov released the song " Puto" on their 1997 album '' ¿Dónde Jugarán las Niñas?''. The lyrics of the song contain phrases like "Marica nena mas bien putín, Puto nace, puto se muere, Amo a matón / matarile al maricón / ¿¡y que quiere este hijo de puta!? / quiere llorar, Puto, le faltan tanates al / ¡puto! / le falta topiates / ¡puto! / le faltan tanates al puto puto". The producer,

Gustavo Santaolalla Gustavo Alfredo Santaolalla (born 19 August 1951) is an Argentine musician, composer, and record producer. He is known for composing his film scores with his collaborator and acclaimed director Alejandro González Iñárritu, which composed the ...

, in some statements to the magazine ''

Retila ''Retila Magazine'' was founded in Los Angeles in 1995 by Rafael Martinez, Frank Barbano and Guillermo Quezada. The pocket-size magazine was one of the first full-color magazine that focus in the Spanish Rock movement of the early 1990s. ''Retila' ...

'', stated that the word "puto" had not been used in the sense of "gay" but in the sense of "coward" or "loser", which is also used in Mexico.

LGBT mental health

The consequences for the LGBT community are shown in the UAM study, which states that 27% of LGBT persons studied suffer mental disorders and risk of alcoholism, some 40% have thoughts of suicide, and 25% have attempted it.

Machismo in Mexican culture

According to Andrew A. Reding, homosexuals remain, for the most part, invisible for two reasons. The first, which helps explain why there are no residential gay districts in Mexico, is that Mexicans tend to reside with their families far longer than their counterparts in the US.Reding, p. 6. This is in part for economic reasons. Low incomes and scarce housing keep many living with their parents, as does the fact that in the absence of a government social welfare system, the family is the primary bulwark of social security. Even wealthy Mexican homosexuals often continue to live at home, acquiring a separate lodging as a meeting place for their sexual partners. The second major reason gay men and lesbians remain invisible is the strong social stigma attached to homosexuality, particularly where it comes into conflict with the highly accentuated and differentiated sexual roles prescribed by

machismo Machismo (; ; ; ) is the sense of being " manly" and self-reliant, a concept associated with "a strong sense of masculine pride: an exaggerated masculinity". Machismo is a term originating in the early 1930s and 1940s best defined as hav ...

. But machismo is as much about power relationships among men as it is about establishing the dominance of men over women.

Transgressions against machismo

Machismo Machismo (; ; ; ) is the sense of being " manly" and self-reliant, a concept associated with "a strong sense of masculine pride: an exaggerated masculinity". Machismo is a term originating in the early 1930s and 1940s best defined as hav ...

'' has important implications for how most Mexicans view homosexuality. Homophobia is far more intensely directed against those who violate norms of male and female conduct. This is especially pronounced among men, where effeminate behavior elicits far greater levels of social disapproval than does homosexuality ''

per se Per se may refer to: * '' per se'', a Latin phrase meaning "by itself" or "in itself". * Illegal ''per se'', the legal usage in criminal and antitrust law * Negligence ''per se'', legal use in tort law * Per Se (restaurant), a New York City restaur ...

''. In the ''machista'' perspective, a man's greatest offense against the norm is to not act like a man.Reding, p. 8.

Effeminacy Effeminacy is the embodiment of traits and/or expressions in those who are not of the female sex (e.g. boys and men) that are often associated with what is generally perceived to be feminine behaviours, mannerisms, styles, or gender roles, rath ...

and cross-dressing are serious violations of the masculine ideal. But the greatest transgression is for a man to assume the sexual role of a woman in intercourse. The man who penetrates another man remains masculine. The man who is penetrated loses his masculinity and incurs by far the greater social stigma.Reding, p. 8. The focus on masculinity has serious consequences. It means that most Mexican gay or bisexual males, regardless of the

sexual roles Sex is the biological distinction of an organism between male and female. Sex or SEX may also refer to: Biology and behaviour *Animal sexual behaviour **Copulation (zoology) **Human sexual activity ** Non-penetrative sex, or sexual outercourse ...

they assume in private, are at pains to project a manly image in public. The relative few who are unable to do so are therefore highly exposed and subject to ridicule and harassment, to say nothing of discrimination in employment. Because the vast majority of the homosexual population remains hidden from view, homosexuality becomes identified in the minds of many with prostitution, disease, and cross-dressing. That reinforces a vicious cycle, as prejudice keeps homosexuality underground, and the few surface manifestations of homosexuality reinforce prejudice.Reding, p. 12. It also means that

transvestite Transvestism is the practice of dressing in a manner traditionally associated with the opposite sex. In some cultures, transvestism is practiced for religious, traditional, or ceremonial reasons. The term is considered outdated in Western ...

s are subject to hatred, harassment, and police abuse. Police abuse stems not only from popular prejudice but also from the fact that ''street'' prostitution is illegal in certain jurisdictions such as Mexico City. Mexican police, whose wages tend to be very low, are notorious for corruption, extorting money from citizens. The notion of

transgender A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through ...

, understood in terms that go beyond the demeanor-based identities of transvestites (''vestidas'' or ''travestis''), is of recent arrival in Mexico.

Social views about Lesbianism

In the gender-based classificatory system in Mexico, masculine women typically have been assumed to reject men or to want to be like them. This notion is captured in derogatory labels such as '' machorra'' and '' marimacha''. Other derogatory terms, such as ''chancla'' or ''chanclera'' and ''tortillera'', denote the perception that "real" sex cannot happen in the absence of a

penis A penis (plural ''penises'' or ''penes'' () is the primary sexual organ that male animals use to inseminate females (or hermaphrodites) during copulation. Such organs occur in many animals, both vertebrate and invertebrate, but males d ...

.Nardi and Schneider, p. 140. Because ''machismo'' is by definition male-oriented, and is premised on male dominance in relations between the sexes, lesbian relationships are generally perceived as far less threatening to society. That is, to the extent that they are perceived at all, because to a great degree they remain invisible in a cultural context that gives little recognition to

female sexuality Human female sexuality encompasses a broad range of behaviors and processes, including female sexual identity and Human sexual activity, sexual behavior, the physiological, psychological, social, cultural, political, and spiritual or religious ...

in the first place.Reding, p. 16. That helps explain the view often expressed among Mexican men that lesbians are just women who have not experienced "real" sex with a "real" man. In that sense, lesbians suffer much the same treatment as other women in a society that so exalts the masculine over the feminine.Reding, p. 17.

Violence against LGBT people

Homophobia is very widespread in Mexican society. Statisticians show that between 2002 and 2007 alone, 1,000 people have been murdered in homophobic crimes, as the Chamber of Deputies revealed in May 2007, making Mexico the county with the second-highest rate of homophobic crimes in the world (after Brazil). In a journalistic study by Fernando del Collado, titled ''Homofobia, odio, crimen y justicia'' (Homophobia, Hate, Crime, and Justice), there were discussed 400 dead between 1995 and 2005, that is to say, some three murders a month. The City Commission Against Homophobic Hate Crimes calculates that only one in four crimes is reported. From January to August 2009, 40 gay people were murdered in Michoacán alone, nearly all of them in the

Tierra Caliente ''Tierra caliente'' is an informal term used in Latin America to refer to places with a distinctly tropical climate. These are usually regions from sea level from 0–3,000 feet.Zech, W. and Hintermaier-Erhard, G. (2002); Böden der Welt – Ein Bi ...

area. The great majority are against gay men; from 1995 to 2004, "only" sixteen women had been murdered. The crimes are often ignored or investigated with little interest by the police forces, who give impunity to the criminal in 98% of cases. Other forms of less serious violence are classified into the following types, according to a 2007 study by the

Metropolitan Autonomous University Metropolitan may refer to: * Metropolitan area, a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories * Metropolitan borough, a form of local government district in England * Metropolitan county, a typ ...

(UAM) Xochimilco campus: verbal attack in 32% of cases, sexual harassment in 18%, harassment in 12%, following or pursuit in 12%, and threats in 11%. According to the UAM study, the most frequent types of discrimination "were not hiring for a job, 13 percent; threats of extortion and detention by police, 11 percent; and abuse of employees, 10 percent".

Roman Catholic Church

Reinforcing attitudes toward homosexuality in

Mexican culture Mexican culture is primarily influenced by its Indigenous inhabitants and the culture of Spain. Mexican culture is described as the 'child' of both western and native American civilizations. Other minor influences include those from other regio ...

is the stance of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. Mexico City's Cardinal Norberto Rivera denounces "euphemisms" that contribute to "moral disorientation". "The arguments expressed by those who sympathize with this current that favors sexual

libertinism A libertine is a person devoid of most moral principles, a sense of responsibility, or sexual restraints, which they see as unnecessary or undesirable, and is especially someone who ignores or even spurns accepted morals and forms of behaviour o ...

, often appear under humanist banners, although at root they manifest materialist ideologies that deny the transcendent nature of the human person, as well as the supernatural vocation of the individual." The complementary union of man and woman, he says, is the only relationship capable of generating "true conjugal love."Reding, p. 15. Anti-gay rhetoric is still acceptable in parts of the country where the influence of the Catholic Church is strongest. The new Catechism of the Catholic Church describes homosexual acts as a "grave depravity" and "intrinsically disordered". It states that lesbian and gay relationships are " contrary to natural law ..they do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity. Under no circumstances can they be approved." Recognizing that "the number of men and women who have deep-seated homosexual tendencies is not negligible", it specifies that "they must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity," avoiding "every sign of unjust discrimination." Yet it mandates that "homosexual persons are called to

chastity Chastity, also known as purity, is a virtue related to temperance. Someone who is ''chaste'' refrains either from sexual activity considered immoral or any sexual activity, according to their state of life. In some contexts, for example when ma ...

Tolerance among indigenous peoples

Even though Mexico's majority mestizo, racially mixed and assimilated, culture, permeated by machismo, is hostile to male homosexuality, particularly in its more effeminate manifestations, some of its

indigenous cultures Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

are a lot more tolerant. Isthmus Zapotecs and Yucatán Mayans are cases in point. Particularly, the Zapotecs developed the concept of a

third gender Third gender is a concept in which individuals are categorized, either by themselves or by society, as neither man nor woman. It is also a social category present in societies that recognize three or more genders. The term ''third'' is usuall ...

, which they referred to as ''

muxe In Zapotec cultures of Oaxaca (southern Mexico), a muxe (also spelled muxhe; ) is a person assigned male at birth who dresses and behaves in ways otherwise associated with women; they may be seen as a third gender. Etymology The Zapotec word ' ...

'', as an intermediate between male and female. Somewhat androgynous, they do both women's and men's work. While their apparel can be somewhat flamboyant, they are more masculine than feminine in dress. A ''muxe'' status is recognized in

childhood A child (plural, : children) is a human being between the stages of childbirth, birth and puberty, or between the Development of the human body, developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers ...

, and as Zapotec parents consider the ''muxes'' to be the brightest, most gifted children, they will keep them in school longer than other children. It is widely believed that they are artistically gifted, and do better work than women.Reding, p. 20. More recently, ''muxes'' have been able to use their relatively high levels of education to gain important footholds in the more prestigious white-collar jobs in government and business that constitute the social elite in their communities. They have also been getting elected to political office, benefiting from the public perception that they are intelligent and gifted.Reding, p. 20-21 According to Chiñas, "Isthmus Zapotec culture allows both women and men more freedom to express affection in public for persons of the same sex than does Anglo North American culture." In the special case of fiestas, however, heterosexual men are expected to not engage in any bodily contact with either men or women while dancing. Women, on the other hand, are allowed to dance with each other, and ''muxes'' may dance with each other or with women.Reding, p. 21. Though not necessarily approving such liaisons, Isthmus Zapotec society is tolerant of persons who publicly form

same-sex couple A same-sex relationship is a romantic or sexual relationship between people of the same sex. ''Same-sex marriage'' refers to the institutionalized recognition of such relationships in the form of a marriage; civil unions may exist in countries ...

s, whether male or female. Both types of couples occur with comparable frequency. Zapotecs are also tolerant of bisexuality and

transvestism Transvestism is the practice of dressing in a manner traditionally associated with the opposite sex. In some cultures, transvestism is practiced for religious, traditional, or ceremonial reasons. The term is considered outdated in Western ...

. Chiñas affirms that she seldom witnessed any instances of

ostracism Ostracism ( el, ὀστρακισμός, ''ostrakismos'') was an Athenian democratic procedure in which any citizen could be expelled from the city-state of Athens for ten years. While some instances clearly expressed popular anger at the ci ...

based on sexual orientation or same-sex liaisons. The

Zapatista Army of National Liberation The Zapatista Army of National Liberation (, EZLN), often referred to as the Zapatistas (Mexican ), is a far-left political and militant group that controls a substantial amount of territory in Chiapas, the southernmost state of Mexico. Since ...

(EZLN), a mostly indigenous and armed revolutionary group, on 1 January 1994, the same day the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) went into effect, began a rebellion against the Mexican government in the southern state of Chiapas, the country's poorest. They have included in several proclamations to the nation "the homosexuals" as an oppressed group along with

indigenous peoples Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

, women and peasants.Haggerty, p. 590.

Footnotes

References

* Peter M. Nardi and Beth E. Schneider. ''Social perspectives in lesbian and gay studies: a reader''. Routledge, 1998. 625 p. . * John Middlemist Herrick and Paul H. Stuart. E''ncyclopedia of social welfare history in North America''. SAGE, 2005. 534 p. . * Don M. Coerver, Suzanne B. Pasztor, Robert Buffington. ''Mexico: an encyclopedia of contemporary culture and history''. ABC-CLIO, 2004. 621 p. . * Yolanda C. Padilla. ''Gay and lesbian rights organizing: community-based strategies''. Routledge, 2004. 235 p. . * Ben Sifuentes-Jáuregui. ''Transvestism, masculinity, and Latin America literature: genders share flesh''. Palgrave Macmillan, 2002. 240 p. . * Louis Crompton. ''Homosexuality & Civilization''. Harvard University Press, 2006. 623 p. . * Wayne R. Dynes, Warren Johansson, William A. Percy, Stephen Donaldson. ''Encyclopedia of homosexuality, Volume 2''. Garland Pub., 1990. 1484 p. . * George E. Haggerty. ''Gay histories and cultures: an encyclopedia''. Taylor & Francis, 2000. 986 p. . * Rudi Bleys. ''Images of ambiente: homotextuality and Latin American art, 1810-today''. Continuum International Publishing Group, 2000. 244 p. . * Alfonso G. Jiménez de Sandi Valle, Luis Alberto de la Garza Becerra and Napoleón Glockner Corte.
LGBT Pride Parade in Mexico City
'. National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), 2009. 25 p. * Andrew A. Reding.
Mexico: Update on Treatment of Homosexuals
'. U.S. Citizenship and Migration Services. May, 2000. 37 p. * María de Jesús González Pérez.
LGBT Pride Parade
'. Metropolitan Autonomous University - Azcapotzalco. El Cotidiano. May–June, 2005. 90-97 p.

External links

Informative
National Council to Prevent Discrimination
— official website.
National Center for the Prevention and Control of HIV/AIDS
— official website.
Anodis
— Mexican news agency about

sexual diversity Gender and sexual diversity (GSD), or simply sexual diversity, refers to all the diversities of sex characteristics, sexual orientations and gender identities, without the need to specify each of the identities, behaviors, or characteristics that ...

. Other
Gay Mexico
— gay online magazine.
MexGay
— information about gay-friendly tourist destinations in Mexico. {{DEFAULTSORT:Lgbt In Mexico es:Homosexualidad en México