In Juchitán de Zaragoza, a Zapotec culture of

Oaxaca Oaxaca, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca, is one of the 32 states that compose the political divisions of Mexico, Federative Entities of the Mexico, United Mexican States. It is divided into municipalities of Oaxaca, 570 munici ...

(southeastern

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

), a muxe (also spelled muxhe; ) is a person assigned male at birth who adopts aspects of feminine

gender roles A gender role, or sex role, is a social norm deemed appropriate or desirable for individuals based on their gender or sex. Gender roles are usually centered on conceptions of masculinity and femininity. The specifics regarding these gende ...

, including dress, behavior, and social standing. The extent to which muxes present with feminine or masculine gender identities depends on location, social reception, and individual preference, among other factors. They are commonly defined as a

third gender Third gender or third sex is an identity recognizing individuals categorized, either by themselves or by society, as neither a man nor a woman. Many gender systems around the world include three or more genders, deriving the concept either from ...

which is neither male or female. Muxe identity not only involves gender identity and presentation, but also a preservation of Zapotec culture and customs.

Etymology

Although the exact etymology of the Zapotec word ' is unknown, it is thought to derive from the Spanish word for "woman", '. In the 16th-century, the letter ''x'' had a sound similar to "sh" (see ). The word ''muxe'' is a gender-neutral term, among many other Zapoteco words.

Gender and identity in Zapotec culture

In contrast to Mexico's majority ''mestizo'' culture, the

Isthmus of Tehuantepec The Isthmus of Tehuantepec () is an isthmus in Mexico. It represents the shortest distance between the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean. Before the opening of the Panama Canal, it was a major overland transport route known simply as the T ...

has a predominantly Zapotec population, representing one of the country's indigenous peoples. Other Zapotec communities, outside the Isthmus, have similar

roles, such as the '' biza'ah'' of Teotitlán del Valle. One study estimates that 6 percent of males in an Isthmus Zapotec community in the early 1970s were muxes. It is unknown if the Zapotec three-gender system predates Spanish colonization due to the lack of sources that survived the colonial period. Although there is evidence of homosexual activity in indigenous Mesoamerican societies and accounts of cross-dressing given spiritual or ritual significance, little historical evidence exists that sheds light on the origins of muxes.

Mythological origins

According to a popular myth in Juchitán, San Vicente, the patron saint of Juchitán, had three sacks, one with women, one with men, and another that contained a third gender. He accidentally ripped open the sack containing the mixed-gender individuals in Juchitán, giving the community more third-gender people than the rest of the world. Another variation states that the muxes were so boisterous that they ripped open the bag once San Vicente got to Oaxaca. The myth describes why more muxes are present in Juchitán than in other societies.

Identity

Identification as a muxe is partly societal and partly individual. The individual's family and neighbors observe sons for signs of feminine behavior in their childhood. Once identifying a muxe, mothers may encourage their muxe children to participate in work usually done by women and provide feminine clothing for them. American anthropologist

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explained in 1995 that in the Zapotec culture, gender and sexual identity is seen as an inherent attribute rather than something that can be chosen or changed. Most people view their gender as something God has given them and few muxes desire genital surgery. Although there are individuals within Juchitán who identify as gay and

transgender A transgender (often shortened to trans) person has a gender identity different from that typically associated with the sex they were sex assignment, assigned at birth. The opposite of ''transgender'' is ''cisgender'', which describes perso ...

, these individuals do not usually overlap with those who identify as muxe. Gay men identify as men, dress like men, and do work associated with men, while muxes adopt feminine identities to some extent. Muxes vary drastically in terms of gender presentation and expression. Many muxes have masculine and feminine personas, with both a masculine birth name and a feminine muxe name. Most literature uses feminine pronouns when muxes are in feminine clothing and masculine pronouns when muxes use a masculine presentation. Some may dress in traditional feminine clothing all the time, while some may only dress up on special occasions or in certain places. Likewise, some muxes prefer to identify solely with their feminine names, present as

feminine Femininity (also called womanliness) is a set of attributes, behaviors, and Gender roles, roles generally associated with women and girls. Femininity can be understood as Social construction of gender, socially constructed, and there is also s ...

, and take on feminine work. However, to many muxes in Juchitán, gender presentation as "female or male" is less important than living as a Zapoteco individual. Whereas identifying as transgender solely involves a person's gender identity, being a muxe requires one preserve and respect traditional Zapotec culture, regardless of whether they present as masculine or feminine at any given time.

Societal role

Rather than a

gender identity Gender identity is the personal sense of one's own gender. Gender identity can correlate with a person's assigned sex or can differ from it. In most individuals, the various biological determinants of sex are congruent and consistent with the in ...

that defines itself in opposition to the

gender binary The gender binary (also known as gender binarism) is the classification of gender into two distinct forms of masculine and feminine, whether by social system, Culture, cultural belief, or both simultaneously. Most cultures use a gender binary, ...

, muxes occupy a defined gender category with a distinct role within Juchitán society. Juchitán society is matrifocal, and Juchitán women have important and valuable societal roles. For instance, women control Juchitán's economy, as many women are at once matriarchs,

artisans An artisan (from , ) is a skilled worker, skilled craft worker who makes or creates material objects partly or entirely by handicraft, hand. These objects may be wikt:functional, functional or strictly beauty, decorative, for example furnit ...

, and

merchants A merchant is a person who trades in goods produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Merchants have been known for as long as humans have engaged in trade and commerce. Merchants and merchant networks operated i ...

. Muxes participate in these feminine spheres of Juchitán society, such as artisan work, household maintenance, and merchantry. While men and women often leave the parent's household to get married, muxes are traditionally supposed to live in their parents' household in order to care for aging parents. The help that muxes provide with household/artisan/merchant work and their care for their parents in adulthood is posited as a reason for why some families view muxes as a blessing. Some muxes marry women and have children while others choose men as sexual or romantic partners.Stephen, Lynn (2002). "Latin American Perspectives," Issue 123, Vol.29 No.2, March 2002, pp. 41-59. Although it is looked down upon by wider society, muxes sometimes pay straight men for sexual relationships. Muxes may be ''vestidas'' ("dressed", i.e. wearing traditional women's clothing) or ''pintadas'' ("painted", i.e. wearing make-up but not women's clothing). The phenomenon of muxes dressing in clothes typically worn by women is fairly recent, beginning in the 1950s and gaining popularity until nearly all of the younger generation of muxes today are ''vestidas''.Gómez Regalado, Amaranta (2005) Muxes termed ''vestidas tradicionales'' dress with traditional Zapotec clothing all or most of the time, including '' huipiles'', which are handmade dresses composed of colourful fabrics. In contrast, ''vestidas modernas'' dress in modern feminine clothing.

Velas

"Las Velas" are a general name for festivals celebrated in Zapotec cultures since

pre-Columbian In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era, also known as the pre-contact era, or as the pre-Cabraline era specifically in Brazil, spans from the initial peopling of the Americas in the Upper Paleolithic to the onset of European col ...

times. The four-day celebration consists of a

mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...

; the regada de frutas (tossing of fruit); the vela, an all-night dance; and the lavada de ollas (washing the pots) held the afternoon after the vela. Muxes play important

economic An economy is an area of the Production (economics), production, Distribution (economics), distribution and trade, as well as Consumption (economics), consumption of Goods (economics), goods and Service (economics), services. In general, it is ...

roles in the vela festivals, where they work as

to provide the traditional dress worn by many in attendance. Muxes were banned from wearing traditional clothing to the vela festivities for sixteen years, during which they fought for their right to participate in traditional clothing, until their return in 2019. La Vela de las Intrépidas, a vela that takes place in early November, is the most prominent of the velas organized by Las Intrépidas (a prominent muxe organization) which celebrates muxe identity and Zapotec society. Since generosity and gift-giving is highly valued within indigenous Juchitán society, muxes compete to finance the vela. After the end of the celebration, one muxe is crowned as queen, named the "mayordomo."

Social acceptance

Although muxes in Juchitán are socially accepted and, in many cases, valued, outside of Juchitán, muxes face oppression and hostility. Some families see muxes as a blessing, while other muxes are forbidden by their families from deviating from a masculine gender role. Muxes from larger, more Westernized towns face ample discrimination, especially from cis men due to attitudes introduced by Catholicism.

Gender variance Gender nonconformity or gender variance is gender expression by an individual whose behavior, mannerisms, and/or appearance does not match masculine or feminine gender norms. A person can be gender-nonconforming regardless of their gender identity ...

and same-sex desire in wealthier communities of the region are more likely to follow a Western taxonomy of gay, bisexual and transgender. Such individuals are also more likely to remain " in the closet". Since muxes belong to indigenous communities, many of which are systematically disadvantaged, they generally belong to the lower classes of society.

Prominent Muxes

Las Intrépidas

Las Auténticas Intrépidas Buscadoras del Peligro are a muxe organization founded in 1975 composed of and representative of muxes within Zapotec community. Las Intrépidas are well-integrated into Juchitán, particularly due to their ties to the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

and other political entities in the community, and are thus well-respected. Las Intrépidas members can come from various walks of life and may receive more employment than other muxes; for example, they are often hired around town at quinceañeras. Las Intrépidas also advocate for

sex education Sex education, also known as sexual education, sexuality education or sex ed, is the instruction of issues relating to human sexuality, including human sexual anatomy, Human sexual activity, sexual activity, sexual reproduction, safe sex, birth ...

, AIDS awareness, and domestic abuse support. Since they require an entrance fee, many of its members are from high social standing.

Individuals

Amaranta Gómez Regalado from Juchitán de Zaragoza is a prominent activist for LGBTQ+ rights, HIV prevention, disabled rights, gender equality, and the promotion of indigenous culture. In 2003, Regalado gained international prominence as a congressional candidate for the

México Posible México Posible () was a Mexican political party of brief existence which took part in the midterm 2003 Mexican legislative election. The party was led by Patricia Mercado. Due to its not achieving 2.0% of the national vote the party lost its nati ...

party in the Oaxaca state elections. She later earned a Bachelor’s degree in social anthropology at the University of Veracruz, the first muxe to have done so. Lukas Avendaño is an emerging

performance art Performance art is an artwork or art exhibition created through actions executed by the artist or other participants. It may be witnessed live or through documentation, spontaneously developed or written, and is traditionally presented to a pu ...

ist whose recent work constitutes a queer performatic intervention of Mexican nationalistic representations, particularly that of Zapotec Tehuana women. Avendaño, born on the Isthmus, embodies the complex identity of muxes. His

cross-dressing Cross-dressing is the act of wearing clothes traditionally or stereotypically associated with a different gender. From as early as pre-modern history, cross-dressing has been practiced in order to disguise, comfort, entertain, and express onesel ...

performance interweaves

ritual dance Ceremonial dance may refer to: *Sacred dance *Ecstatic dance *Folk dance A folk dance is a dance that reflects the life of the people of a certain country or region. Not all ethnic dances are folk dances. For example, Ritual, ritual dances or d ...

s with autobiographical passages and actions that involve audience members, in order to challenge the widely-held view of a gay-friendly indigenous culture and point towards the existence of lives that negotiate pain and loneliness with self-affirming pride. Alex Orozco is an actress, playwright and theater director that has won several regional awards with "Bala'na", a monologue about Muxe sex workers in the state of Oaxaca. Marven is a food vendor often referred to by her business name Lady Tacos de Canasta. Her first notable appearance was a viral video taken while she was selling food at a 2016 Gay Pride march. Since then, she has grown in popularity and been featured on multiple media outlets. She was featured in Episode 3 of '' Taco Chronicles'', the 2019 Netflix documentary series, in which she discusses both her business and gender. She was involved in multiple reported incidents with police in February and July 2019.

References

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' an
The Filmmaker Fund
interviews several residents of Juchitán and their family members about the experiences and perceptions of muxes. Spanish with English

subtitles Subtitles are texts representing the contents of the audio in a film, television show, opera or other audiovisual media. Subtitles might provide a transcription or translation of spoken dialogue. Although naming conventions can vary, caption ...

. *Facebook.com.
Las Auténticas Intrepidas Buscadores del Peligro
. *Nicola Ókin Frioli Photography
"We are Princesses in a land of Machos"
2004. *Credo Reference
"Muxes"
2019. {{Sexual identities Mexican transgender people Gender systems Culture of Mexico Oaxaca Third gender Zapotec civilization