Muxe of Mexico

[JesusA (imported)]

A Lifestyle Distinct:

The Muxe of Mexico

By MARC LACEY

The New York Times

December 7, 2008

Mexico City — Mexico can be intolerant of homosexuality; it can also be quite liberal. Gay-bashing incidents are not uncommon in the countryside, where many Mexicans consider homosexuality a sin. In Mexico City, meanwhile, same-sex domestic partnerships are legally recognized — and often celebrated lavishly in government offices as if they were marriages.

But nowhere are attitudes toward sex and gender quite as elastic as in the far reaches of the southern state of Oaxaca. There, in the indigenous communities around the town of Juchitán, the world is not divided simply into gay and straight. The local Zapotec people have made room for a third category, which they call “muxes” (pronounced MOO-shays) — men who consider themselves women and live in a socially sanctioned netherworld between the two genders.

“Muxe” is a Zapotec word derived from the Spanish “mujer,” or woman; it is reserved for males who, from boyhood, have felt themselves drawn to living as a woman, anticipating roles set out for them by the community.

Anthropologists trace the acceptance of people of mixed gender to pre-Colombian Mexico, pointing to accounts of cross-dressing Aztec priests and Mayan gods who were male and female at the same time. Spanish colonizers wiped out most of those attitudes in the 1500s by forcing conversion to Catholicism. But mixed-gender identities managed to survive in the area around Juchitán, a place so traditional that many people speak ancient Zapotec instead of Spanish.

Not all muxes express their identities the same way. Some dress as women and take hormones to change their bodies. Others favor male clothes. What they share is that the community accepts them; many in it believe that muxes have special intellectual and artistic gifts.

Every November, muxes inundate the town for a grand ball that attracts local men, women and children as well as outsiders. A queen is selected; the mayor crowns her. “I don’t care what people say,” said Sebastian Sarmienta, the boyfriend of a muxe, Ninel Castillejo García. “There are some people who get uncomfortable. I don’t see a problem. What is so bad about it?”

Muxes are found in all walks of life in Juchitán, but most take on traditional female roles — selling in the market, embroidering traditional garments, cooking at home. Some also become sex workers, selling their services to men.

Acceptance of a child who feels he is a muxe is not unanimous; some parents force such children to fend for themselves. But the far more common sentiment appears to be that of a woman who takes care of her grandson, Carmelo, 13.

“It is how God sent him,” she said.

Katie Orlinsky contributed reporting from Juchitán, Mexico.

Copyright 2008 The New York Times Company

There is a very nice collection of photos at the NYT site. It’s definitely worth clicking on the link below and checking it out.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/07/weeki ... lacey.html

[Danya (imported)]

Seems like we in America, the rest of the West and those cultures still under the influence of Western culture and mores could learn quite a lot from the Zapotec people. What a nuturing society. For a time, I thought I wanted to move to Thailand. Perhaps the much closer Oaxaca region would do just as well!

[FianceeUvBigGuy (imported)]

Hmmmm...I wonder if some undergo snip-snip?

If so, may I "interview" them

Oh, right...back to the kitchen!

Yoli

[DeaconBlues (imported)]

Seems like we in America, the rest of the West and those cultures still under the influence of Western culture and mores could learn quite a lot from the Zapotec people....

So true, seems to me that lately, we have chosen more and more to emulate the "Third Reich" when it comes to our cultural and social development.

I was especially impressed with the attitude of the parents in the Zapotec culture, when they have a "muxe" child. Instead of rejection or ostrizing the child, they accept him/her and say "God sent them this way, who am I to reject them?"

Articles like this really do make me consider a vacation there and someday maybe even a relocation there.

[Danya (imported)]

There is a very nice collection of photos at the NYT site. It’s definitely worth clicking on the link below and checking it out.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/07/weeki ... lacey.html

I just had a chance to check out the photos and I agree with Jesus. They are worth a look.

How wonderful it must be for these gender variant male children to grow up knowing there is a place for them as the women they know themselves to be.

[gildedgurl (imported)]

Ian (Globe Trekker) had a segment on Ipanema, Brazil, a seaside TG/TS haven in Rio D.

Side Note: The "tall girl" in "The Girl From Ipanema" lyrics was inspired by a real 15 yr old girl.

- Gilded