THE THIRD GENDER

 

The 150,000 inhabitants of Juchitan, in the State of Oaxaca, keep intact the pre-Colombian native culture. The language, the houses and the streets, the traditional costume: it seems that time has frozen. Yet, the most peculiar characteristic of this town is what Westerners would call “sexual tolerance”, while in Juchitan it is a millenary culture: the role of homosexual and transsexual.

 

Since always the “Third Gender”, Muxes, were accepted as an integral part of society. They are considered the favorite children because they are the ones staying with the family, taking care of the housework and of the parents in old age. This is the reason why parents promote a “Muxe oriented education” when they realize that their children show “women behaviors”. A mother witnesses: “When I saw that my 10-year-old son used to steal my clothes and play with dolls and preferred sewing instead of kicking the ball or playing with the toy gun, I realized that he was born half man half woman, he was a Muxe!”

 

Involved in jobs recognized by the community, the homosexuals of Juchitan gained the fame for being hard workers. The majority are involved in needlework of traditional costumes, aesthetics and other jobs which valorize their creativity. As prewedding virginity is considered a fundamental value, sometimes Muxes are called to teach a sort of “sexual education” and some parents encourage their teenage children to hang out with Muxes to learn seduction techniques to become expert lovers.

 

In the struggle of combining traditional Zapotec indigenous culture and gay modern activism, every year in November, Muxes organize a 3-day festival to celebrate homosexuality and transvestism with band music, traditional dances and parades which conclude with the crowning of a queen. The festival includes also a mass in the main church in town. The priest offers the communion to a group of religious Muxes, which wait in line to receive the host.

 

In Juchitan the church does not discriminate gays, but accepts them and celebrates them as children of God. A Muxe legend tells that God offered to San Vincente Ferrer, the town patron, a sack full of homosexuals to distribute through the entire country. However, when San Vincente arrived in Juchitan, the homosexuals became so impatient that the patron emptied the bag, making them all fall on the small town.

 

Despite Muxe’s recognition as an integral part of society, there are still many barriers to acceptance of sexual diversity: lesbianism is considered an illness, relations between Muxes and heterosexuals are kept secret and some parents still have problems publicly acknowledging their children's sexual orientation.