In a short documentary created by VICE Media, Mexico’s their gender is introduced as Muxe. This documentary was created July 18,2013. In the state of Oaxaca, Mexico there is a small town by the name of Juchitan where everyone is accepted regardless of their sexuality. In Juchitán there are three genders, male, female, and muxe. A muxe is a person who was born a man but doesn’t act masculine, a muxe falls in between a male and female. Although muxes are accepted, there are some limitations and obligation a person who identifies as a muxe has to abide by. Many of the Muxes of Juchitan, Mexico live a lonely life because they’re not allowed to date or find a partner, and if they do, they’re risking the acceptance and support they receive from their families and community. In class we talked about rejection and how important the role culture plays in our identity, for instance, in Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza by Gloria Anzaldúa, she mentions that in order to be acceptable to one’s own culture, one must put their individuality behind and live to fulfill what society labels acceptable.
In this short documentary provided by VICE Media, Muxes are men who resemble to be more feminine than masculine. One of the muxes shown in the film, Viviana states the difference between a homosexual and a muxe is that a homosexual man is attracted to another homosexual man, and a muxe isn’t attracted to other muxe they’re attracted to a heterosexual men. In this community, of Juchitan Mexico, everyone including muxes are accepted for whom they are but this acceptance comes with a price. Muxes are allowed to do everything anyone else can do, except for one particular thing that is prohibited. Muxe are prohibited to date, live with a partner, or have their partners coming to their front door looking for them. Muxes also hold the responsibility of taking care of their parents as they age since their siblings are most likely to get married and move away. Viviana also informs the viewers that muxes of Juchitan are dedicated to working, paying bills, and providing for the family once the other kids move away and have to provide for their own families. Muxes are very much appreciated because of everything they do for their families. Providing for your family is a part of cultural identity because at some point many of us are expected to help out, whether its leaving our role as kids and becoming parents to our younger siblings or by finding a job to help our single parents get through tough financial situations.
A second muxe that was shown in the film was Paola Lopez, who expands more on what it’s like to be a muxe. Paola lets us know that life in Juchitan, Mexico is a bit fun because you get to be who you want to be freely, and also spend time with other muxe that you can relate to and who will understand you. On the other hand, she also lets us know that it can be nostalgic, sometimes because people accept you as you are but don’t accept you having a partner. For a living Paola makes and sells snacks, if people were to find out that she was seeing or living with someone, the people wouldn’t buy anything from her because everything of hers would be considered anti-hygienic. When this scene about anti-hygienic products come to place, it seems like the community isn’t very accepting, instead this seems to be a sign of homophobia. Paola also states that sometimes being a muxe is living a lonely life because after your parents die, you are left with no responsibility and no one living with you.
A scene from the film that was touched on was the transition many muxes choose to make by taking hormones or injecting oils into their bodies. Kenia is another muxe who talks about her experience and the experiences of other muxes who injected oils into their bodies to appear to have more feminine features than masculine. Kenia tells us of the dangers these steps of injecting themselves with oils that contain chemicals that may obstruct their veins or joints. Not only does Kenia inject oil into her body, but she has also had gone through many surgeries to appear more women than men. Viviana also shares an experience of how she started to take hormones at the age of 14 in order to grow her chest, grow hips, and develop some curves. Viviana also mentions that it’s a very emotional change, because she finally gets to go to sleep like a woman and wake up like a woman, there’s no need to hide who she really is. This form of changing your appearance in another way that this can affect cultural identity, because a woman is only a woman and can be treated like a woman if she looks like one. This is what Gloria Anzaldua means when she says we have to refrain from being who want to be and live by what our culture or society marks as acceptable (20).
To better understand why muxes choose to abide by the rules of society in Juchitan, Mexico is because they’re afraid of rejections, Gloria Anzaldua states, “to avoid rejection, some of us have to conform to the values of the culture, push the unacceptable parts into the shadows” (20). Sometimes in order to live a peaceful, and accepted life one must put their individuality behind and live to fulfill what others mark as acceptable even if it costs you your happiness. Reflecting back to Paola Lopez who tells us of the lonely life many muxes face shows us that even if this town supposedly accepts muxes for who they are, they still don’t fully accept them because they don’t let them have a partner to spend the rest of their lives with. So how happy can a muxe be if they’re lonely for half their lifetime? Anzaldúa felt oppressed by her culture, she felt like it was an obligation to follow a specific regime that was acceptable to her culture, “I had to leave home, so I could find myself, find my own intrinsic nature buried under the personality that had been imposed on me” (16). Anzaldúa left her home because she was afraid of being judged/criticized for who she wanted to be, so why can’t muxes do the same, leave and find a place that they can call home where they’re fully accepted for who they are and who they choose to spend their life with.
When I first learned about muxes Mexico’s third gender was in my women’s psychology class. I found this fascinating because I’ve never heard of a muxe. I come from a small town in Mexico far from Oaxaca called Morelos and I’ve never heard of muxes living there or existing. I believe that everyone is entitled to be who they want to be regardless of their sexuality. I felt a strong urge to share the Muxe community because although these people feel accepted, it doesn’t quite seem like they are. To not be able to be with someone, find a partner, a soulmate who they can spend the rest of their lives with doesn’t seem to be people who are accepted by their culture/community. Muxes shouldn’t fear not being able to make a living if they choose to find someone to spend their time with. They also shouldn’t be discriminated for being attracted to whoever they want to be attracted to, they also shouldn’t be considered as anti hygienic if they don’t want to spend their life alone. Muxes aren’t germs or bacteria to be considered as anti hygienic. In the film the priest tells us that the church accepts everyone, but they don’t accept the union between same sex. So muxes aren’t free to be who they are, because when someone is accepted, they’re accepted as a whole and with no restrictions.
For many muxes being accepted in their culture, family, and community is very important because they get to be who they want to be. In order to feel accepted, muxes have to live and abide by society’s rules, even if it means giving up on finding a partner. Anzaldua talks about how culture plays an important role on fearing rejection, everyone wants to fit in, even if it means giving up on being who you want to be. For Anzaldua this wasn’t the case, she chose to leave her home and she decided that the only form she’ll feel accepted by who she was is by creating her own community along with others she identified with to feel accepted. Sometimes in order to feel accepted people believe that they have to give up certain things, for muxes its giving up on the idea of finding love, but that shouldn’t be the case for anyone. Everyone should be accepted for they are and who they want to be with.
Anzaldúa Gloria. Borderlands: La Frontera. Capitan Swing, 2016.
Vice Media. “Mexico’s Third Gender.” Youtube, 18 Jul. 2019, https://youtu.be/1Bhp7i7WNcM.
