Cooking with Muxes, Mexico's Third Gender Luis Cobelo - VICE
go to original August 6, 2015

Victoria López Ramírez, better known as La Toya, is 32 years old. She lives with her mother María and her sisters, and makes her living by doing hair and makeup for women and other muxes. (Luis Cobelo/VICE)

In the Istmo de Tehuantepec region of Oaxaca, Mexico, lies the district of Juchitán. This was the land of the ancient Zapotec civilization, whose language and culture still thrives here. One of the many distinguishing characteristics of Juchitán is its population of muxes (pronounced moo-shays), which means “woman” in Zapotecan dialect.

But they are not women. Most crudely put, they are people who are born biologically male and dress as women - but they consider themselves neither cross-dressers nor transgender. Instead, they are treated as “the third gender,” and they identify neither as men nor as women.

Because of that understanding, muxes often do not face the same levels of discrimination that gay men or trans women do here. Many engage in work that is traditionally reserved for women, but others do men’s work, too.

It was in Las Velas - Oaxacan parties where people dance, eat, and drink - that muxes found their place, dressing up in traditional kehuana costume. Since the 1970s, they have held their own vela called The Authentic Intrepid Danger Seekers - a sign that society and the government believe in the sexual diversity of Oaxaca.

In order to learn more about muxe culture, I traveled to Juchitán and met several muxes who prepared traditional dishes for me from the area while explaining their backgrounds and their experiences.

Read the rest at VICE

VICE: Mexico's 'Third Gender' of the Zapotec Culture (VICE)

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