Muxe

InZapoteccultures ofOaxaca(southernMexico), amuxe(also spelledmuxhe;[muʃeʔ]) is a personassigned male at birthwho dresses and behaves in ways otherwise associated with women; they may be seen as athird gender.
TheZapotecwordmuxeis thought to derive from the Spanish word for "woman",mujer.In the 16th-century, the letterxhad a sound similar to "sh" (seeHistory of the Spanish language § Modern development of the Old Spanish sibilants). The wordmuxeis a gender-neutral term, among the many other words in the language of the Zapotec. Unlike any Spanish word, this word is difficult to translate as it is not gender based.
In contrast toMexico's majoritymestizoculture, theIsthmus of Tehuantepechas a predominantlyZapotec population, one ofthe country's indigenous peoples.  It is widely reported that muxe face less hostility there than homosexuals, effeminate males, andtrans womendo elsewhere in Mexico. One study estimates that 6 percent of males in an Isthmus Zapotec community in the early 1970s were muxe.Other Zapotec communities, outside the Isthmus, have similarthird genderroles, such as thebiza'ahofTeotitlán del Valle.
While there’s no exact number of individuals that identify as muxe, there are large debates on what exactly a muxe is. Somesay that a person is not considered muxe unless they are born in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec region, and is instead considered gay if they are born outside of the village.People from this region judge those who come from other countries and try to identify as a Muxe because they did not grow up in the correct environment or surrounded by Muxe culture. They can be considered gay, transgender or transexual.
Some marry women and have children while others choose men as sexual or romantic partners.According to American anthropologist Lynn Stephen, muxe "may do certain kinds of women's work such as embroidery or decorating home altars, but others do the male work of making jewelry".
Muxe may bevestidas("dressed", i.e. wearing traditional women's clothing) orpintadas("painted", i.e. wearing make-up). While thethree-gender systempredatesSpanish colonization,the phenomenon of muxe 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 muxe today arevestidas.Most muxe dress with traditional Zapotec clothing. This can includehuipiles, which are handmade dresses composed of colourful fabrics.
Within contemporary Zapotec culture, reports vary as to their social status. Muxe in village communities may not be disparaged and are highly respected, while in larger, more Westernized towns they may face some discrimination, especially from cis-men due to attitudes introduced by Catholicism.Muxe generally belong to the poorer classes of society.Gender varianceandsame-sex desirein 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". Despite this, muxe have traditionally been considered good luck, and many now have white-collar jobs or are involved in politics.
American anthropologistBeverly Chiñasexplained in 1995 that in the Zapotec culture, "the idea of choosing gender or of sexual orientation is as ludicrous as suggesting that one can choose one's skin color."Most people traditionally view their gender as something God has given them and few muxe desiregenital surgery. They generally do not suffer fromgender dysphoria.
There is not as much pressure to "pass" as in Western societies.
Lynn Stephen writes: "Muxe men are not referred to as "homosexuals" but constitute a separate category based on gender attributes. People perceive them as having the physical bodies of men but different aesthetic, work, and social skills from most men. They may have some attributes of women or combine those of men and women." If they do choose men as sexual partners, neither are necessarily considered homosexual.
In 2003, 25-year-oldAmaranta Gómez RegaladofromJuchitán de Zaragozagained international prominence as a congressional candidate for theMéxico Posibleparty in theOaxaca state elections. Her broad platform included calls for the decriminalization of marijuana and abortion.
Lukas Avendaño is an emergingperformance artistwhose recent work constitutes a queerperformaticintervention of Mexican nationalistic representations, particularly that of ZapotecTehuanawomen. Avendaño, born on the Isthmus, embodies the complex identity of muxes. Hiscross-dressingperformance interweavesritual danceswith 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 nameLady 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 ofTaco 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.