Gender-variant identities worldwide: Difference between revisions

In Mexico, the Zapotec people recognize the ''muxe'', who are assigned male at birth, and prefer to wear traditional women's styles of clothing and fashionable make-up. ''Muxes'' are thought to be usually attracted to men, though some ''muxes'' marry women.<ref name="muxe cobelo" /><ref name="Lynn 2002">Stephen, Lynn (2002). "Latin American Perspectives," Issue 123, Vol.29 No.2, March 2002, pp. 41-59. {{cite web |url= http://www.uky.edu/~tmute2/mexico/MexWeb/Mex+PDFs/stephan-gender-zapotec.pdf |title= ''Sexualities and Genders in Zapotec Oaxaca.'' |archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20070129073904/http://www.uky.edu/~tmute2/mexico/MexWeb/Mex%20PDFs/stephan-gender-zapotec.pdf |archivedate= 2007-01-29 |df=  |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230516201112/http://www.uky.edu/~tmute2/mexico/MexWeb/Mex+PDFs/stephan-gender-zapotec.pdf |archive-date= 17 July 2023 }}&nbsp;{{small|(98.6&nbsp;[[Kibibyte|KiB]])}}</ref> ''Muxes'' may consider themselves homosexual, heterosexual, or asexual.<ref name="muxe bbc" /> (Men who are not ''muxe,'' and who have relationships with ''muxe,'' are called ''mayetes'', and are not socially thought of as gay for doing so.<ref name="muxe bbc" /> ''Muxes'' themselves have various opinions about whether such men are really gay or straight.<ref name="muxe cobelo" />) A person recognizes from early childhood that they want to be a ''muxe'', based on their own natural instincts.<ref name="muxe cobelo" /> They usually do not seek [[surgery|gender-affirming surgery]].<ref name="muxe cobelo" /> Today, ''muxe'' are accepted and integrated in society, whereas gay men and trans women are not accepted as much, though this varies by the amount of Westernization in a given community.<ref name="muxe cobelo" /> One ''muxe'' named Gala who was interviewed in 2015 explained, "We are not men or women [...] We are a third gender. Men are men and women are women— and ''muxes'' are ''muxes''. Is that simple."<ref name="muxe cobelo" /> Much the same definition was given in a 2018 BBC interview with another ''muxe'' named Felina, who runs a group for ''muxe'' founded in the 1970s, ''[https://www.lasintrepidas.com/ Las Auténticas Intrepidas Buscadoras del Peligro]'' (The Authentic Intrepid Danger Seekers).<ref name="muxe cobelo" /><ref name="muxe bbc">Ola Synowiec. "The third gender of southern Mexico." November 26, 2018. ''BBC.'' http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20181125-the-third-gender-of-southern-mexico [https://web.archive.org/web/20230514070747/http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20181125-the-third-gender-of-southern-mexico Archived] on 17 July 2023</ref> Another ''muxe'', performance artist [[Lukas Avendaño]];<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Stambaugh|first=Antonio Prieto|date=2014-01-01|title=RepresentaXión" de un muxe: la identidad performática de Lukas Avendaño|url=https://muse.jhu.edu/journals/latin_american_theatre_review/v048/48.1.stambaugh.html|journal=Latin American Theatre Review|volume=48|issue=1|pages=31–53|doi=10.1353/ltr.2014.0030|s2cid=141999742|issn=2161-0576|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230406161821/https://muse.jhu.edu/journals/latin_american_theatre_review/v048/48.1.stambaugh.html|archive-date=17 July 2023}}</ref>, explained in a 2017 interview that not all ''muxe'' identify the same way, and some ''muxe'' do identify as women.<ref name="muxe cruz">Mónica Cruz. "Muxes: una comunidad en Oaxaca desafía los conceptos tradicionales de la identidad y el género." ''Verne.'' February 2, 2017. https://verne.elpais.com/verne/2017/01/31/mexico/1485834145_612368.html [https://web.archive.org/web/20230603115759/https://verne.elpais.com/verne/2017/01/31/mexico/1485834145_612368.html Archived] on 17 July 2023</ref> In the Zapotec language, there is no grammatical gender, which makes it easier. The Spanish language has only masculine and feminine, so ''muxe'' have to choose one, even though many ''muxe'' do not feel like either.<ref name="muxe cruz" /> In recent years, ''muxe'' have campaigned for the right to use the [[toilets|restroom]] of their preference: some ''muxe'' (''gunaa muxe'', who think of themselves as like trans women) feel safer in the women's restroom, whereas other ''muxe'' (''nguiiu muxe'', who think of themselves as like feminine gay men) prefer the men's restroom.<ref name="muxe cruz" /> One study estimates that 6% of people assigned male at birth in an Isthmus Zapotec community in the early 1970s were ''muxe''.<ref>Rymph, David (1974). ''Cross-sex behavior in an Isthmus Zapotec village.'' Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Anthropological Association, Mexico City.</ref> Notable ''muxes'' include human rights activist [[Amaranta Gómez Regalado]] (b. 1977), who gained international prominence as the first trans candidate of Mexico, in the 2003 Oaxaca state elections;<ref name="muxe bbc" /><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2003/06/05/ls-amaranta.html|title=La nueva visibilidad lésbico-gay|last=Medina|first=Antonio|date=June 5, 2003|work=LETRA S|access-date=March 13, 2016|via=La Jornada|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230408163115/https://www.jornada.unam.mx/2003/06/05/ls-amaranta.html|archive-date=17 July 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=//www.copenhagen2009.org/Conference/Keynote_Speakers/Amaranta_Gomez_Regalado.aspx |title=Archived profile from Amaranta Gómez Regalado for the WorldOut Games in Copenhagen 2009 |last= |first= |date=January 11, 2016 |website=Amaranta Gómez Regalado – WorldOut Games 2009 |publisher=Wayback Machine Internet Archive |access-date=March 13, 2016 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090721073144/http://www.copenhagen2009.org/Conference/Keynote_Speakers/Amaranta_Gomez_Regalado.aspx |archivedate=July 21, 2009 |df= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230613123644/http://www.copenhagen2009.org/Conference/Keynote_Speakers/Amaranta_Gomez_Regalado.aspx |archive-date=17 July 2023 }}</ref> and food vendor [[Marven]], ''Lady Tacos de Canasta'', who became famous in a viral video taken while she was selling food at a pride parade in 2016, and has been featured on multiple media outlets since.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.chilango.com/comida/lady-tacos-de-canasta/|title=Lady Tacos de Canasta: hay de chapulines, iguana, arroz con leche...|last1=M|first1=Sthefany|last2=ujano|date=2018-08-28|language=es-MX|access-date=2019-08-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404130144/https://www.chilango.com/comida/lady-tacos-de-canasta/|archive-date=17 July 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.milenio.com/policia/lady-tacos-canasta-policias-agreden-tiran-puesto|title=A Lady Tacos de Canasta, policías la agreden y le tiran su puesto|website=www.milenio.com|access-date=2019-08-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308111207/https://www.milenio.com/policia/lady-tacos-canasta-policias-agreden-tiran-puesto|archive-date=17 July 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://heraldodemexico.com.mx/tendencias/autoridades-intentan-retirar-a-lady-tacos-de-canasta-en-alcaldia-cuauhemoc/|title=Autoridades intentan retirar a Lady tacos de canasta, en alcaldía Cuauhémoc|date=2019-07-29|website=El Heraldo de México|language=es-MX|access-date=2019-08-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308130228/https://heraldodemexico.com.mx/tendencias/autoridades-intentan-retirar-a-lady-tacos-de-canasta-en-alcaldia-cuauhemoc/|archive-date=17 July 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://culturacolectiva.com/movies/taco-chronicles-netflix-mexico-food-documentary-review|title='The Taco Chronicles' Does Justice To Mexico's Misunderstood Street Food Staple|date=2019-07-18|website=culturacolectiva.com|language=English|access-date=2019-08-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220703053533/https://culturacolectiva.com/movies/taco-chronicles-netflix-mexico-food-documentary-review/|archive-date=17 July 2023}}</ref>