Muxes,

Oaxaca's
3rd Gender
BY TYLOR ROCHA
What is a muxe?

 Zapotec culture of Oaxaca

 Man, woman, and muxe
 Two types
 Muxe gunaa
 Muxe nguiiu
 "Muxe" = muxe gunaa
 Mujer Muxe
Where do
muxe live?
 State of Oaxaca
 Juchitán de
Zaragoza (Bottom in
orange state)
 Outside of Oaxaca
 Mexico City (Red
Mexico City
star)
Western
misconceptions
 Muxe ≠ transgender
 Gender tied to birth
 Muxe ≠ homosexual
 Neither men nor women
 Muxe ≠ LGBTQ+
 Longstanding concept
 Muxe ≠ sexual orientation
 Primarily a social role
Discovering muxe
identity
 Male sex "boys" have feminine traits
 Mothers and women identify muxe
 Happens during childhood
 Self-identifying muxe rare
 Muxe identity is nurtured
 Zapotec matriarchy
Not an oddity

 Other Native Americans

 Crow
 Apache
 Aztec
 Maya
 Samoa
 Fa'afafine
 India
 Hijra
 Philippines
 Bakla
Connection to
Clawson/class
 San Vicente Ferrer, patron saint of Juchitán
 Non-traditional creation story
 Religious syncretism (mixing of religions)
 Worship of saints (Virgen de Guadalupe)
Parallels/Relations with
the US
 Muxes parallel non-binary gender in LGBTQ+
 New wave of muxes
 Attraction and pressure with transgender
community
 Globalization
 Hormonal supplements
 Body modification
Works Cited
(electronic sources)
 “Beyond Gender: Indigenous Perspectives, Muxe.”
Natural History Museum, Natural History Museum of LA
County, 15 Sept. 2020, nhm.org/stories/beyond-gender-
indigenous-perspectives-muxe.
 Cartwright, Mark. “Zapotec Civilization.” World History
Encyclopedia, https://www.worldhistory.org, 28 Oct.
2013, www.worldhistory.org/Zapotec_Civilization/.
 Kaur, Harmeet. “This Community in Southern Mexico Has
Defied the Gender Binary for Generations.” CNN, Cable
News Network, 7 Apr. 2023,
www.cnn.com/travel/article/muxes-mexico-gender-
binary-cec/index.html.
Works Cited
(electronic sources)
 Marlett, Stephen A. “Zapotec Pronoun Classification.”
University of North Dakota - Scholarly Commons,
University of North Dakota & SIL International, 1990,
commons.und.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1303&c
ontext=sil-work-papers.
 Operstein, Natalie. “Personal Pronouns in Zapotec and
Zapotecan.” University of Chicago Press - Journals,
University of California - Los Angeles, Oct. 2023,
www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/379683.
 Owens, Ivy. “Defying the Gender Binary in Juchitán de
Zaragoza, Oaxaca.” Out Front Magazine, Out Front
Magazine, 24 Apr. 2023,
www.outfrontmagazine.com/defying-the-gender-binary-
in-juchitan-de-zaragoza-oaxaca/.
Works Cited
(electronic sources)
 Ramirez, Jacobo, and Ana María Munar. “Hybrid Gender
Colonization: The Case of Muxes.” Wiley Online Library,
John Wiley & Sons, 23 June 2022,
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/gwao.12884.
 Samaké, Cynthia LeCount. “The Embroidered Huipiles of
Mexico’s Isthmus of Tehuantepec.” PieceWork,
PieceWork, 5 Aug. 2022, pieceworkmagazine.com/the-
embroidered-huipiles-of-mexicos-isthmus-of-
tehuantepec/.
 Torres, Núria López. “Intimate Portraits of Mexico’s Third-
Gender Muxes.” The New York Times, The New York Times,
27 Sept. 2021,
www.nytimes.com/2021/09/27/travel/mexico-muxes-
third-gender.html.
Works Cited
(electronic sources)
 Vasey, Paul L. “Stop Imposing Western LGBTQ+ Identities on
Non-Western Cultures. It’s Gender Colonialism.” Newsweek,
Newsweek, 11 May 2022, www.newsweek.com/stop-
imposing-western-lgbtq-identities-non-western-cultures-its-
gender-colonialism-opinion-1705785.
 “Vogue Fover Features Transgender ‘Muxe’ from Mexico for
the First Time.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 21
Nov. 2019,
www.theguardian.com/world/2019/nov/21/vogue-cover-
features-transgender-muxe-from-mexico-for-the-first-time.
 Wright, Wally. “Muxe Culture: Celebrating Mexico’s Fabulous
Third Gender.” The Not So Innocents Abroad, The Not So
Innocents Abroad, 6 Mar. 2023,
www.thenotsoinnocentsabroad.com/blog/muxe-culture-
celebrating-mexicos-fabulous-third-gender.
Works Cited
(paper sources)
 Clawson, D. L., & Tillman, B. F. (2017). Latin
America and the Caribbean: lands and
peoples (sixth edition). Oxford University Press.
Works Cited
(video sources)
 “Mexico’s Third Gender.” YouTube, VICE, 18
July 2013,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Bhp7i7
WNcM&t=450s. Accessed 2 Nov. 2023.
 Olita, Ivan, director. Muxes, Bravò, 5 Dec.
2015, https://vimeo.com/196684590.
Accessed 2 Nov. 2023.
 Schwarz, Shaul, director. Muxes – Mexico’s
Third Gender. YouTube, The Guardian, 27 Oct.
2017,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iiek6JxY
JLs. Accessed 2 Nov. 2023.
Questions?
 Question 1: a. Transgender
Muxes, b. Homosexual

historically, c.

d.
Both a and b.
Neither a nor b.
have been...
 Question 1: a. Transgender
Muxes, b. Homosexual

historically, c.

d.
Both a and b.
Neither a nor b.
have been...
 Question 2:
Usually, a
person is a.

b.
Childhood
Adolescence
identified as c. Adulthood

muxe
during...
 Question 2:
Usually, a
person is a.

b.
Childhood
Adolescence
identified as c. Adulthood

muxe
during...
 Question 3:
The largest a. Mexico City

muxe b. Juchitán
Yanga
population is
c.

found in...
 Question 3:
The largest a. Mexico City

muxe b. Juchitán
Yanga
population is
c.

found in...