hispanic research journal, Vol. 14 No.

2, April 2013, 175–93

Muxeninity and the Institutionalization

of a Third Gender Identity in Alejandra
Islas’s Muxes: auténticas, intrépidas,
buscadoras de peligro
Gustavo Subero
University of Leicester, UK

This article focuses on Alejandra Islas’s documentary Muxes: auténticas,

intrépidas, buscadoras de peligro (Mexico, 2005) and the way it demonstrates
that transgenderism has become an institutionalized gender practice within
Zapotec culture. It argues for an understanding of female relations and how
they are experienced in the Isthmus in order to include muxes (a term that
works as an umbrella for gay and transgender individuals) as part of the
socio-sexual dynamics of the region. The article proposes a classification of
the different types of muxeninity (regarded as a separate gender category to
the traditional male/female) that are encountered in this part of the country
based on the different types of muxes that Islas shows in her documentary.
It also argues that muxeninity, as an identity, is not fixed or static but is an
ever-evolving entity that is (re)constructed by not only an amalgamation of
both ethnic identity (Zapotec) and transgender identity, but also of gay/
queer as identity (as experienced in Anglo-European communities). Finally,
it argues that the Vela de las muxes is a celebration that permits the confla-
gration of a diversity of expressions of muxeninity, whilst demonstrating that
this gender identity is multiple and fluid.

keywords Zapotec identity, muxeninity, muxe, transgenderism, Alejandra Islas

Gender and sexuality in the Zapotec Isthmus

Alejandra Islas’s documentary Muxes: auténticas, intrépidas, buscadoras de peligro
(2005) is the first attempt to provide audiovisual testimony to the lives and experiences
of a Zapotec society that embraces gender diversity, and whose gender system operates
beyond the binary hombre/mujer. The documentary will function as a source of
evidence further to theorize gender diversity in the Isthmus. However, this research
recognizes that Islas’s documentary should not be regarded as unmediated truth, but

© W. S. Maney & Son Ltd 2013 DOI 10.1179/1468273712Z.00000000022

176 GUSTAVO SUBERO

a source of representation of a cultural experience. As Nick James accurately points

out, ‘the beauty of truth is in the eye of the editor. And it has always been so. [. . .]
For the power of documentary resides not only in its veracity as a record, but also
in its persuasive vision’ (2007: 22). What makes this documentary key for the
understanding of transgenderism in the Isthmus is that it shows a real concern for
investigating the truth of the sexual subject in confessional, dramatic exposé and
cinema vérité mode. However, before offering a close analysis of this film, it is
important to understand how female relations are experienced in the Isthmus, as such
an account will serve as the basis for understanding matters of female kinship, group
belonging, and finally gender parity.
The Isthmus of Tehuantepec, in Mexico, is located south of Oaxaca on the border
with Guatemala. This is a particularly interethnic region, in which Zapotec people
constitute the dominant ethnic group. In spite of the accelerated process of moderni-
zation that this area has undergone, the Zapotec people of the Isthmus have managed
to preserve their own traditions, and to create a very dynamic culture based on ethnic
pride. This society also presents very divergent views in matters of gender relations
when compared to the rest of Mexico or even Latin America. In the Zapotec Isthmus
the different social ambits that constitute the realm of this society are clearly divided
according to gender and/or gender relations. The house, the market, and the festive
system(s) are clearly female domains; whereas the countryside, the factory, the
political representation, intellectual and artistic production, and bars are masculine.
In other words and as Marinella Miano Borruso has signalled:
[E]n la sociedad zapoteca se ha ido desarrollando históricamente una línea bastante
definida de división social del trabajo, según la cual a las mujeres está asignada la tarea
de la circulación y distribución de los bienes y de las mercancías y de la reproducción de
la cultura tradicional, mientras que los hombres se ocupan esencialmente de la producción
económica cultural y artística y de la dirección política del grupo. El hombre es consi-
derado ‘naturalmente’ el depositario de la autoridad y del poder, sobre todo del poder
político es decir del ámbito de las acciones y decisiones que conciernen la comunidad en
su conjunto y sus relaciones con las instituciones nacionales e internacionales. (2001:
online)

The role that women play in the economic, social, and cultural life of the ethnic
group, as well as the social prestige they enjoy, has been well documented (Miano
Borruso, 1993; 1998; 2001; Stephen, 2002; 2005). Their economic freedom, as a prod-
uct of their own commercial activity, promotes a very strong autonomy in matters of
social relations to men; an autonomy that is manifested through a very strong sense
of self-valorization, and a very dominant presence in the community social system
(represented by rituals and fiestas). In such social events, women enjoy a representa-
tive autonomy in relation to men, since they monopolize the vast majority of the
mayordomías.1 They also have a very strong and accepted authority in the organiza-
tion of the household and the upbringing of the family’s children (even though they
1
A tradition that follows a politico-religious structure that is based on services to the community, the devotion
to certain saints, and the adoption of minor to more prominent political responsibilities. It is constituted by
seventeen different fiestas, and every fiesta lasts four days in which there are a series of religious activities
(ranging from mass to oratories) and a number of different parties and balls. To be chosen as a Mayordomo
(the person in charge of a mayordomía) is a position of great respect within the community, as it suggests that
the person (always a man) has achieved a position of importance and prestige within the community.
 MUXENINITY AND THE INSTITUTIONALIZATION OF A THIRD GENDER 177

are not regarded as head of the family as this title belongs to men, though it may,
effectively, be exercised by women).
Such power is not transferable to all strata of social and gender interaction.
Similarly, Miano Borruso also views this society as matriarchal in nature, although
she is quick to point out that gender identity is based upon the group’s necessities
rather than the individual’s. She argues, ‘il condizionamento della etnicità, in una
società occidentale multietnica, non necessariamente rappresenta un elemento di
oppresione [. . .] se la identità di genere si construise a partire da una logica di grupo
e non individuale’ (1993: 83).2 Although the very strong social presence that women
have at home, in commerce, or in the passing on of language and customs is undeni-
able, they have been sidelined in areas such as the ownership of sexuality and more
importantly of desire, as well as of formal political and social movements. None of
the ethnographic or anthropological works seem to indicate that women are active
in the search for potential sexual/cohabiting partners, neither stories of men being
subordinate to women are known in such works. Rather, women’s economic freedom
does not guarantee freedom for social or cultural mobility since they use all their
income to contribute to the household, whereas boyfriends and husbands (cohabiting
unmarried couples are rarely to be found in such a society) use their income to pay
for their own personal pleasure(s). The ‘atypical’ role that Zapotec women enjoy
within their society, in comparison to other mestiza women in Mexico is clear; yet
Miano Borruso and Gómez Suárez are quick to signal the nature of such spaces:
la hegemonía en el espacio del mercado, la calle, la casa (‘la casa de mi madre’ se dice y
no ‘de mis padres’), el patio, la iglesia, el templo, el sistema festivo y el sistema ceremo-
nial. Los espacios masculinos, por el contrario, se ubican en el ámbito productivo, el
palacio municipal, la dirección de partidos políticos, agencias e instituciones nacionales,
los grandes negocios, la vida cultural y las cantinas. (2006: 1065)

Researchers agree that one of the most prominent characteristics of Zapotec sexual
and gender culture is the degree of visibility and social recognition that gay and
transgender people enjoy within this society. Zapotec society rejects the dichotomist
organization according to biological gender, in contrast to the national and Latin
American pattern of gender stratification, and offers no stigmatization or social
marginalization of the homosexual subject. On the contrary, there is a permissive,
visible, social, and cultural attitude in relation to homosexuality, effeminacy, and
transvestism. As Miano Borruso points out:
se trata de una homosexualidad institucionalizada, de un tercer elemento constitutivo e
integrado a la organización genérica de la sociedad y al universo cultural étnico poco
usuales en nuestra sociedad occidental, que algunos autores consideran como un tercer
sexo socialmente concebido y aceptado, un hombre-mujer que reúne las características de
ambos sexos. (2001: www.isisweb.com.ar)

However, Miano Borruso, as well as Analisa Taylor in her work on gendered

visions of indigeneity in Mexico (2006), signals that only male-to-female sexuality or
2
‘The conditioning of ethnicity, in a Western multiethnic society, does not necessarily represent an element of
oppression [. . .] as long as gender identity is constructed based on a group rather than an individual logic’. All
translations are my own.
178 GUSTAVO SUBERO

gender identity is socially accepted, and that lesbian identity, conversely, is considered
deviant or looked down upon and for this reason it is generally repressed. The Muxe
(a Zapotec word derived from the Castilian mujer used to describe homosexual men)
constitutes in itself a separate third category of sexuality and gender in which male
individuals present some physical and psychological features that are regarded as
feminine.3 The idea of this hombre-mujer subject had been already observed in cer-
tain pre-Columbian tribes in the continent; such individuals had the role of fulfilling
a gender gap that may have emerged in certain micro groups such as clans or families
when the group had too many males as members. As both Richard Trexler (1999)
and Michael J. Horswell (2003) have suggested, the third gender in pre-Hispanic
cultures was just an economic way to offer social validation to those subjects whose
idea of a gendered self was not subjected to the biological sex they possessed or to
those who took the social role of their biologically gendered counterparts.
In Zapotec Oaxaca the third gender, the muxe, constitutes another valid alternative
to the already existing gender identities hombre versus mujer, and such an identity is
validated by including muxes in all those aspects of social interaction in which such
a gender identity is regarded as fit for purpose. As Agueda Gómez Suárez suggests:
‘En la actualidad, el homoerotismo, las prácticas homosexuales, junto con el afemina-
miento y el travestismo están normalizados y funcionan como un “tercer género”
socialmente concebido, permitido y aceptado’ (2010: 2389–90). As noted by Anne
Bolin (2003) in her study of sexual diversity across the globe, muxes are regarded as
part of a two-spirit tradition. A culturally recognized position of revisited gender
roles (usually men who wish to act like women), as well as an additional status that
includes partial or total cross-dressing, occupational specialization (engaging in jobs
that are regarded as essentially feminine) and the adoption of behaviours and ways
of being that are associated with a gender different to that of birth. Furthermore the
individual’s gender identity is seen as independent to sexual identity (even though
most muxes will try and establish affective relationships with people of the same sex).
Their agency is thus constituted not only by the assumption of an alternative gender
identity, and in many cases also an alternative sexual identity, but also by the degree
of citizenship that such subjects enjoy within Zapotec culture. Even though the
idea of the third gender and its socio-sexual implications remain present in today’s
Zapotec society, it could be suggested that the process of accelerated globalization
and the opening of the Isthmus to other cultures, both nationally and internationally,
have forced a re-evaluation of the notion of muxe not only as a third gender but also
as a strategy of validation for a gay identity from which ethnic identity has both
changed and in some cases been eroded. Before the advent of the Gay Liberation
Movement and of its late incursion on Zapotec soil, muxes were not considered
homosexual as it was understood and experienced in white European and American
culture, and they certainly did not subscribe to the idea of gayness or homosexuality
prevailing in such societies (although they have borrowed many of the elements of
this (sub)culture(s) and inserted them into their own). They were socially regarded as
subjects who had the physical bodies of men and the psychological traits of women.

3
It is important to point out that the literature suggests that not all muxes are cross-dressers, although most of
them will cross-dress at some point in their lives (Newbold Chiñas, 1995; Miano Borruso, 1998; 2001).
 MUXENINITY AND THE INSTITUTIONALIZATION OF A THIRD GENDER 179

However, in the last decades the muxes have become more politically aware and have
started to subscribe more to transnational interpretations of same-sex sexual orienta-
tion and desire. Within the family nucleus, the muxe, traditionally, appeared to be
tolerated by the father and accepted with joy by the mother.4 In a society in which
the mother works outside the domestic ambit, the muxe in most cases becomes an
invaluable element within the family social dynamics, as he will be responsible for all
the chores related to the (re)production of family life. The muxe son (xe) plays dif-
ferent roles in the social dynamics of the family life.5 Xe will not only be responsible
for the smooth running of the house whilst the mother is out on business (which
usually means working in the local market), but xe will also contribute with another
income to the household (so fathers can then use their money for their own
enjoyment). Since the research shows that muxes do not tend to establish long-lasting
sentimental relationships, it is believed that they will always constitute a major point
of support for their parents during difficult times (old age, illnesses, etc.). It is for
these reasons that most mothers will proudly announce and defend a muxe son, since
not only do they offer monetary support, but also moral support when women are
left on their own (because they become widows, because their husbands abandon
them for someone younger, or simply because they decide to separate from their
husbands). The degree of acceptance and family support the muxes receive constitutes
an element of great security for their personal and social development, whilst it
also gives them the confidence to operate and participate within their community or
communities without fear of rejection or abuse. Conversely from the experience in
the rest of the country (and many regions in the continent) in which the coming
out of the closet constitutes a rather traumatic experience, in Oaxaca, men who are
suspected to be muxes are encouraged to come out and assume this identity from a
very early age, and, as Miano Borruso points out, ‘no es de extrañar que en muchos
casos, sobre todo cuando hacen faltas hijas y el hijo no expresa la “natural”
agresividad de los varones, la misma madre cría al niño estimulando o favoreciendo
una serie de comportamientos atribuídos socialmente a las niñas’ (2001, www.isisweb.
com.ar).
The muxes, as social subjects, possess a very important role in the socio-cultural
organization of Juchitán, as they are in charge of reproducing certain cultural
elements that reaffirm, and in some cases even create, Zapotec ethnic identity. Like
biologically gendered women, in all the fiestas the muxes tend to monopolize the
vast majority of the mayordomías as a way to acquire social prestige and to reaffirm
ethnic roots. Since the muxe is considered to belong to the feminine domain, they,
the ones who cross-dress, are not allowed to participate in los espacios masculinos.

4
Miano Borruso (1998) is quick to provide a counter-argument to this supposedly ready acceptance of muxes,
and argues that as muxes vestidas have become more visible within Oaxacan society, there has also been an
increase in the negative and hostile attitude towards them both within and outside the family household. How-
ever, she also acknowledges that local legislation now provides muxes with a higher degree of citizenship.
5
Since this research shares its findings with other researchers who regard muxe as a third gender identity alto-
gether, the use of he, she, his, her to refer to such subjects is viewed as entirely reductionist, as it tacitly adheres
to the dichotomic gender division existing within heteronormativity. As a result, it is proposed throughout
this section to use ‘xe’ [he] as a personal pronoun and ‘xer’ [her] as the possessive adjective when making
references to muxes.
180 GUSTAVO SUBERO

It is clear that there is no slippage of their social roles due to the ambiguity, or
rather duality, of their gender identity. They will be socially accepted, as long as they
adhere to the gender division of social life that already governs sexual subjects in the
region. In other words, they will be allowed in any space that is essentially feminine
and in which their presence cannot remind other men, as Lynn Stephen (2002)
suggests, of the constructedness of masculinity. Such constructedness is already
acknowledged by most macho figures who regard the process of imitation and copy
of male behaviour as the tools to guarantee the assimilation of a macho/masculine
identity. Although in the Latin American popular imaginary an essentialist machismo
is supposedly intrinsic to all men (Andrade, 1992; Lancaster, 1997; 1998; Mirandé,
1997), most parents see the need to reinforce such behaviour by punishing, both
verbally and/or physically, any sign of effeminacy in their children. If, as Judith
Butler (1993; 1997) has observed, all human sexual behaviour is based on sexual
performance in order to project a specific type of sexual persona, then it is under-
standable why the muxes are kept away from those inherently masculine spaces, as
their presence would be a constant reminder to heterosexual men that their own
masculinity is artificially constructed. This idea follows Stephen when she argues that
‘Muxe are differently evaluated by men and women. Because they may not meet all
of the norms of Zapotec masculinity — exhibiting physical strength in rural labor,
socializing with men, maintaining a public face of authority in their homes and on
the street — they may be disparaged by men because they are a constant reminder of
the constructedness of masculinity’ (2002: 44). Furthermore, the fact that some muxes
have a presentation of the self that does not challenge heteronormativity, in terms of
physical appearance and mannerism, evidences that hetero masculinity cannot be
based solely on the performance of non-effeminate sexuality. It is also interesting to
notice that, as Islas clearly shows in her film, only female-looking muxes are not
allowed to participate in such spaces; whilst male-looking muxes (regardless of the
level of effeminacy that they may present) are allowed in such spaces.

Muxeninity as the manifestation of a third gender identity

The idea of transgenderism as a third (or alternative) gender is not a modern social
construct. In fact, there is plenty of evidence that many indigenous tribes and groups,
over the course of history, have developed and embedded in their societies the idea
of a third gender (different from the biological man/woman) as a different category
within their own gender system. The hijra in India (Nanda, 1990), the berdache in
North America (Trexler, 1999), the xanith of the Arabian Peninsula (Wikan, 1978),
the ne bate of the Mayan civilization (Looper, 2001), the bissu in Indonesia (Davies,
2006), are examples of societies in which gender division extends beyond the
heteronormative regulatory man-woman. Such alternative genders become part of a
more complex gender system in which gender identity is constituted either by the idea
of the self engrained in the person’s mind or by the gender role that the group bestows
upon the individual. In terms of the third gender in the Mexican isthmus, authors
such as Beverly Newbold Chiñas (1975), Stephen (2002), Marta Judith Sánchez Gómez
and Mary Goldsmith (2000), and Analisa Taylor (2006) regard muxe as an identity
that is rooted in the aboriginal belief that gender is not regulated by physiognomy or
 MUXENINITY AND THE INSTITUTIONALIZATION OF A THIRD GENDER 181

biology, and that it constitutes a separate gender category that is neither feminine
nor masculine. However, the work of Miano Borruso (1998) and Amaranta Gómez
Regalado (2005) suggests that the muxe identity has become, especially in the last
decades and due to the influence of processes of queer migration and return to and
from Juchitán, more syncretic in the way it functions as a separate gender identity.
They suggest that this identity is no longer based on an aboriginal understanding of
gender polymorphism in which muxe identity coexists with female and male gender
identity as if it were a separate category of gender altogether. Instead, they regard
muxe identity as an ever-evolving gender that has also incorporated in itself many
elements of gay and transgender identity as this is manifested and experienced in the
West. In her documentary, Islas makes it clear that this third gender, which within
this research and in order to interpret further the options taken by the documentary
will be termed as muxeninity, is fluid and multiple as every muxe has a different
conception of xer own gendered self. This section will offer an analysis of the different
types of muxeninity that are found amongst the muxes of the isthmus, according to
Islas’s work, and that range from those identities that would be labelled as straight
looking (rather than straight acting, as all the muxes depicted on screen share a high
degree of effeminacy) to the ones that would be considered as drag spectacle. It may
seem contradictory to offer a categorization of a gender system based on fluidity;
however, the categories explained here should be regarded as broad templates within
this particular third gender category. Arguably, they will facilitate the understanding
of muxeninity within the broader spectrum of gender identity and the gender categories
that prevail within heteronormative societies.
In Western societies, as Patricia Gagné et al. (1997) suggest, people whose presenta-
tion and/or externalization of their gender orientation falls outside the umbrella of
masculine and feminine are asked to comply with one of the two aforementioned
categories to facilitate the decipherability of their sexual orientation (under the
assumption that external appearance and behaviour are an externalization of one’s
own sexual desires and/or gender orientation). The expression of alternative catego-
ries of gender has always forced the bearer of such identity to assimilate one of the
two existing forms of accepted gender identity that are informed by genitalia in order
to get recognition as a socio-sexual being. As Gagné et al., point out, ‘gender becomes
something one must “confess” through social signifiers that may only be interpreted
within the existing social order’ (1997: 479). Gender dissidents, that is, people whose
gender identity seems to fall outside the heteronormative binary system, are encour-
aged to conform to the dominant system, to alter their bodies and the presentation
of their gendered self to make their identity readily readable by people who come into
contact with them. The idea is that they create a presentation of the self that will
allow them to ‘pass’ as someone from ‘the other sex’ without confusing or blurring
the already existing accepted ‘normal’ genders. Gagné et al. point out that even those
individuals who start challenging the biological gender system, by offering a presenta-
tion of their gendered selves that disrupts the binary man/woman, will eventually
assimilate elements of one such gender in order to conform to hegemonic belief
systems and institutional demands. Unlike theorists like Butler (1993; 2004), who
sees the body as an empty recipient that acquires socio-sexual meaning by means of
performance, the muxes of the Isthmus do not see their performance of gender as the
way to validate their sexual persona. In Juchitán, the muxes are accepted within such
182 GUSTAVO SUBERO

a society regardless of the type of muxeninity that they adopt as part of their social
makeup; their gender identity is regarded as innate and not controlled by their
biological gender. Islas’s documentary reveals that the muxes abandon the idea of
assuming a specific gendered self as the visually economic means to make their gender
orientation accepted within their society. Instead, they see the assumption of mascu-
line or feminine behaviour or external presentation of the self as one of the many
possibilities that their muxeninity entails. It is this freedom that has promoted the
emergence of a variety of identities that can be regarded as muxe. The importance of
muxeninity resides in the fact that it procures a plurality of appearances, behaviours
and even choice of sexual partners without putting into question the identity as
such.
Based on Islas’s documentary, there are three different kinds of muxeninity that
can be observed in Juchitán. Firstly, there is a type of muxe who has assimilated
the aboriginal construct of Zapotec femininity that is found amongst heterosexual
women in the region. These muxes see themselves as bearers of an ancient regional
and local heritage, and their production of their gendered selves responds to the
idea of indigenous Mexican women which model figures such as Frida Kahlo, at
the beginning of the twentieth century, try to rescue and validate in reaction to the
Westernization of Mexican women and Mexican femininity. For such muxes, one of
the main strategies to reaffirm and stress their Mexican identity has been the use
of ethnic clothing. They use typical costumes to highlight their national roots and
reaffirm their cultural identity. Since every costume is different according to the
region where they are worn, they tell a story not only of national pride, but also of
regional adherence as well as an implicit gender identity affirmation.
It is interesting to note that it is this type of muxes who, throughout Islas’s
documentary, will always wear huipil6 and enagua7 and speak in Zapotec, as these
elements are pivotal in the elaboration and reaffirmation of their gender identity.
However, this documentary casts doubts over claims made by Newbold Chiñas (1975)
and Stephen (2002) that muxe is an identity in which same-sex desire is not necessar-
ily always present. They argue that a small number of muxes also establish relation-
ships with women, in what could be considered as a form of trans-lesbianism, that
is, a male-to-female transvestite who chooses women as cohabiting and/or sexual
partners. As such, the muxes would be seen as engaging in a ritual transvestism, in
which the feminization of their exterior does not constitute necessarily a response to
their inner sexual identity. This idea chimes with that of Blenda Femenías, who points
out in her analysis of gender and the boundaries of dress amongst aboriginal people
in Peru, that cross-dressing is a practice that ‘asserts male dominance as they
[Witites]8 claim the right to take women’s things’ (2005: 199). But, unlike the Witite,
who is constructed as a man who flaunts his masculine bravado in stark contrast
to the female clothes he wears, the muxe is seen as trying to emulate the very same
female attributes that other biological women possess. However, nothing in Islas’s

6
A form of Mayan textile and tunic or blouse worn by indigenous Mayan Zapotec and other women in central
to southern Mexico, and Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, and western Honduras, in the northern part of
Central America.
7
A type of skirt worn as a protection to more intimate underwear.
8
Male-to-female performers during regional dances.
 MUXENINITY AND THE INSTITUTIONALIZATION OF A THIRD GENDER 183

documentary even remotely suggests that the muxes are willing to pair up with
women and form long-standing heterosexual relations. According to the testimonials
in the film, the muxes vestidas are fully aware of the limits and boundaries of their
biological bodies, as well as the pivotal importance of dress as a social practice, as
part of the process of construction of their own muxeninity. They are fully aware
that their gender identity constitutes a different identity from that of biological men
and women; although they are also fully aware that their own gender identity is
based on the imitation of the physical and behavioural traits of biological guxanas
(heterosexual women).
Another type of muxe found in Juchitán is the individual who cross-dresses as a
woman without engaging in the aboriginal and/or regional discourse described above.
These muxes see themselves more as transgender, for whom the externalization of
their assumed gender identity is that of a biological woman. Like the transvestites
found in Mexico City and whom Annick Prieur (1998a; 1998b) studies in her work,
these non-aboriginal orientated muxes go through a process of feminization that
starts at a very early age and is fostered by adults who use the child’s behaviour as a
marker of his/her future gender identity and sexual orientation. Once they have come
out, they begin their process of transformation by assuming a female name that will
represent them as a member of the gender they long to recreate as part of their
sexual persona. Following the change of name, there will be a series of changes in
appearance in which they will try to propitiate the emergence of feminine attributes
that will permit society to read them as a member of a different gender. Although
there is no evidence or suggestion in Islas’s documentary that the muxes undergo any
type of body modification (hormone treatment, breast implants or surgical sex
change), a quick look at some of the muxes during the Vela would be evidence to the
contrary, as many of the medium shots of the muxes getting ready for the beauty
pageant show them wearing dresses with very low necks that show off their female
breasts. Some of these muxes live their daily lives as women and, even though they
are aware that they will not be able to be regarded as ‘real women’ (considering that
in mariana societies procreation is a marker of womanhood), they have acquired a
level of social recognition as females (rather than women). As Veronica Bennholdt-
Thomsen notes, ‘he [Muxe] has got his place economically and erotically as a person
who feels like a woman but is genitally a man. Friends, relatives and neighbours call
him by a female name if he wants it and speak of “her” as a female person’ (1997:
163).
The evidence in the documentary suggests that female-looking muxes are a rela-
tively new phenomenon in Juchitán that has become more mainstream in the last
twenty years. For instance, one of the first tales of recognized and even fostered
cross-dressing in the area is that of Mística. In a medium-long shot the audience
watches as Mística, suggestively swinging in a hammock, retells the story told by xer
mother about the childhood episode in which xer family realized that xe9 was a muxe.
It is clear that the real issue is not Mística’s homosexuality or even xer muxeninity
but xer cross-dressing. This uneasiness is further stressed by the cut editing that
moves onto a close-up of Mística’s mother’s hands as the story is told. Mística seems

9
See, above, n. 5 for further clarification on the use of xe as the personal pronoun and xer as the possessive
adjective when referring to muxes.
184 GUSTAVO SUBERO

to come from a family lineage of muxes who all dressed as men, and some even got
married and established heterosexual relationships, without necessarily separating
themselves from muxe practices or same-sex contact(s). However, Mística’s muxenin-
ity has become more problematic because, by wearing women’s clothes, xe shows that
xer masculine gender is not as rigid as an entity as postulated by patriarchal ideology
and as has been constructed within heteronormative discourses. Xer muxeninity, as
has been largely argued in this work, evidences that performativity becomes the basis
on which gender and sexual identity is based and manifested. The visible nature of
xer muxeninity, and that of many others who like Mística have adopted a female
presentation of the self, is what has contributed to the emergence of transgender,
muxe discourses. Such a visible transgender presence in the locality has also propiti-
ated and fuelled the appearance of a small group of local residents who resist the idea
of female-looking muxe and what they come to represent in the region. Nonetheless,
the opposition encountered by the muxes is minimal when compared to that of other
cross-dressers in the rest of the country. The main difference between muxes and
transvestites elsewhere is the fact that since the former’s gender identity is socially
validated and recognized, they do not feel, or at least express, a longing permanently
to eliminate any masculine traits or organs from their own bodies. Since Juchitán is
a place in which biology is not a force that obliges people to respond according to
the expectations that their sexed body(ies) create, physical mutilation is not regarded
as a solution to sexual oppression or a means to social acceptance or inclusion. The
evidence, both filmic and bibliographical, suggests that the emergence of this type
of muxes is what is nowadays more recognized as a real muxe, as other same-sex
sexual identities are now understood as separate identities according to the type of
pattern of behaviour assumed by the individual.
Finally, the last type of muxes that is found in Juchitán is the very effeminate man,
whose external appearance is not that of a woman or an imitation of a woman. These
kinds of muxes could not be considered as butch gays, as they are quite effeminate
and may be seen as very affected in their mannerisms and behaviour; yet they do not
cross-dress in order to create a gender effect. The effeminacy of such individuals is
what provides them with the necessary muxeninity so they can still be considered as
part of this third gender. Their effeminacy is vital to mark the otherness that effec-
tively reifies the third gender nature of the muxes identity. Similarly to modernos or
internacionales,10 such muxes present passive role preference, not necessarily sexual,
whilst they are masculine in appearance and presentation of the self, although they
are not trying to pass as straight the same way that entendidos do.11 It could be
argued that one of the main reasons for such muxes to avoid any type of permanent
cross-dressing is the job they engage in. Within the documentary, both teachers at the
local school fit into this muxe category. As the film tacitly suggests, displaying a
tendency to cross-dress could make them an easy target for discrimination since they
are both in positions of responsibility with young people. It is interesting to note that

10
A term used amongst gay men in Latin America to refer to subjects who have embraced gay identity as
understood and experienced in the USA and Europe.
11
A term used amongst gay men in Latin America to refer to those subjects who seek same-sex encounters, but
may not necessarily subscribe to gay identity as known and experienced elsewhere.
 MUXENINITY AND THE INSTITUTIONALIZATION OF A THIRD GENDER 185

such muxes seem to be, on average, in their early forties and fifties, giving the impres-
sion that younger muxes feel more comfortable in adopting a feminine presentation
of their gendered self, whilst the older generation prefers to subscribe to the idea
of entendidos as previously mentioned. Having a masculine presentation of their
gendered self will also allow such muxes to enter spaces that are socially regarded
as masculine such as bars and canteens. Since their external appearance is that of
masculine men, their presence does not constitute a threat or a de-stabilizing element
to the sexual dynamics of such spaces. However, as with cross-dressers or any other
gay person who does not subscribe to the idea of butch gay, the effeminacy of
the masculine-looking muxes permits them to differentiate themselves from other
heterosexual men in that environment.
The Vela de las Muxes is where the different types of Muxeninities are clearly
displayed, and where the fluidity of this gender identity is best evidenced. This vela
is organized by the group Intrépidas, buscadoras de peligro, an NGO that operates
in the region and that is in charge of same-sex health education and promotion. This
vela has been running for over thirty-five years and aims to promote gender equality
and the defence of sexual diversity. It is celebrated every November and generally a
muxe (or group of muxes) acts as mayordomo(s) for the celebrations. As is tradi-
tional, the celebration lasts four days with a parade around the city, a Mass in honour
of the muxes (showing that Catholic representatives in this region also favour the
acceptance of muxes within Oaxacan society), a night party (the main attraction of
the festivity), and a day after-party to end the celebration. Individuals with other
queer identities, different from those prescribed by heteronormativity, also participate
in this celebration. The Vela de las Muxes is no longer just a festivity to celebrate
people’s muxeninity, but now houses other expressions of transgender(s) identities,
underlined by a transvestite beauty pageant, as well as a drag show as part of the
different amenities of the Vela. The inclusion of such events as part of the Vela has
played a major role in the internationalization of this celebration by making it more
appealing to both national and international markets. What is very striking about the
Vela’s section of the film is that it pays very little attention to the different devices
and strategies the muxes utilize in order to conceal their masculine attributes
and create their desired feminine gender effect. Besides some passing medium shots,
backstage while the muxes are applying the finishing touches to their costumes and
in which the handheld camera pans right very quickly as if desperate to leave such a
space, the documentary avoids any stance on the construction of muxeninity. In con-
trast to other films, in which the transformation from man to woman is highlighted
through close-ups and extreme close-ups of the process of male femaling, what Muxes
offers is images that intend to naturalize such a process without really questioning
its purpose(s) or means. Arguably, Islas’s decision not to show such a process is
intended to naturalize this third gender identity without visually acknowledging its
constructedness. It is not being suggested that the muxes as sexual subjects are not
fully aware of the constructedness of their gender identity, but that the documentary’s
director chooses to avoid moments of gender constructedness in order to naturalize
the muxes’ gender identity.
The only moment in which spectators see the construction of the feminine, a
moment that evidences the artificiality of creating gender, is during the ‘creation’ of
186 GUSTAVO SUBERO

Julia in which a series of long and medium shots of the process of transformation is
offered. However, rather than discovering how the muxe, whose male name is never
disclosed, makes sure that xe erases any masculine traits from xer biological gender
and allows xer feminine self visually to come to the foreground, all that spectators
get to see is a close shot of the man shaving xer facial hair off or removing xer body
hair. The audience never sees how xe makes sure that Julia is constructed in terms of
a corporeal gender identity (creation of female breasts or concealment of the penis),
and it only manages to see how Julia is being made up by another muxe who helps
xer to apply make-up and put on a wig. It could be argued that since Julia articulates
xer muxeninity from an Oaxacan aboriginal perspective, xe does not consider it par-
amount to (re)create female protuberances in order to pass as a believable woman.
Instead, xer femininity, which in turn will become muxeninity, will be tested by the
kind of enagua or trenzas worn or by any other element necessary in the construction
of the (stereo)typical Oaxacan woman. The different images of muxes vestidas
suggest that there are two very distinctive types of such muxes. On the one hand,
there are some muxes who adhere to their Zapotec heritage, as previously explained,
and who are less concerned with permanent bodily alterations as they use typical
Zapotec clothing as a marker of their muxeninity. On the other hand, the younger
muxes, who dress in trendy clothes and do not embrace the Zapotec heritage, are
more concerned with providing a more ‘accurate’ depiction of their feminine selves,
as viewed and consumed through the media, and some will even undergo some type
of bodily alteration to such an effect. However, it seems that Islas is not concerned
with providing a more detailed visual explanation of how such changes come into
being, as there is no detailed visual account of how the muxes obtained or created
such body parts. It is as if by avoiding this part of her subject matter she could natu-
ralize the feminine nature of the muxes and of their bodies, or give the impression to
her audience that nature has given the muxes’ bodies their feminine protuberances.
One of the key moments of the Vela de las Muxes, and one that exalts the
constructedness of gender, is the transvestite beauty pageant. This part of the event
is a feature that is only found within this celebration, as there is no evidence of a
comparable event, amongst heterosexual people, in other velas in the region. The
contest is open not only to the muxes of the Isthmus, but it has become a national
event in which transvestites from the whole of Mexico come to compete in an event
that seeks to reaffirm the contestants’ femininity, rather than their muxeninity. This
femininity seeks to provide a space of recognition for the muxe’s transgender Other.
In other words, the kind of femininity embodied and projected by the transvestite
does not constitute a simple act of imitation or copy, but a way to stress their gender
difference as part of their search for gender sameness. As the film progresses, specta-
tors realize that most transvestites do not simply imitate the type of femininity found
in heterosexual mainstream culture, but instead they take it further and create
their own version of such femininity that ranges from the ordinary black blouse
and denim skirt worn by the hairdresser, to the mini flamenco dress (fan, peineta
included) worn by the older muxe. Through clothing and make-up, they offer a type
of meta-femininity that, although artificial, in relation to the way femaleness is con-
structed in popular culture, provides the imitator with enough feminine investment
to be read as a female subject. The construction of a transvestite fashion, that is the
 MUXENINITY AND THE INSTITUTIONALIZATION OF A THIRD GENDER 187

way transvestites reappropriate female fashion for their own ends, becomes the
perfect tool to highlight gender difference(s). As Karina Wigozki points out in her
analysis of transvestism in the work of Pedro Lemebel, it is also a device for marking
a gender difference through excess and the martyrdom of the transvestite’s fashion:
[L]a vestimenta travesti, entonces, como una estética del exceso: del exceso de lo
femenino, pero también del exceso de lo ‘pobre’ y de la violencia. Una estética ‘anti-
estética’ que destaca además del ropaje travesti la ‘moda’ de la muerte, la ‘moda del
destripe’. Esta ‘contra-moda’ de la loca acribillada descrita a través de una mirada de
placer-violencia o de una violencia voyeurista en la secuencia de poses y estertores de la
loca teatrera en su agonía, es la ‘contra-moda’ de la loca que pide un ‘intermedio’ a su
muerte, una muerte macabra de un maquillaje-lenguaje tétrico y grotesco. (2004: online)

The muxe is not only depicting an imitation of womanliness through xer external
appearance, but xe is also transgressing libidinal codes in which xer own depiction
of womanliness expresses xer gender discontent, and xer reaction to a binaristic
gender system that seeks to repress xer felt gender identity. However, unlike the
transvestite mentioned in Marjorie Garber’s work (1997: 5–9), the muxes do not
regard their maleness as a position from which they can criticize and improve
femaleness through their own version of it.
Their muxeninity constitutes a copy of the original that, like pastiche do in
post-modernity (Hutcheon, 1988; 2001), possesses a critical element within a parodic
imitation. The kind of femininity longed for and sought after by the muxes allows
audiences to read on the surface of their body(ies) the third-worldly nature of this
feminine depiction. The sometimes exaggerated, sometimes trashy, sometimes old-
fashioned way in which the muxes construct their own muxeninity (through clothing
and make-up) stresses the conditions of poverty and socio-economic marginalization
in which they have to create their gendered selves.12 This type of poor counter-
fashion, as expressed above by Wigozki, becomes a violent attack on the naturalized
nature of the femaleness of biological women, because the transvestite knows, espe-
cially in the Isthmus where muxe identity has nothing to do with bodily mutilation,
that they will never be considered as real women. It is here that some of the muxes
will see some of the trash elements that may be contained in their depiction of the
feminine as part of their own muxe camp discourse. The transvestites who participate
in the beauty pageant are aware of the limitations of their own bodies (biologically)
before they can attempt to resurface a different type of gender that emerges once
the transvestite has disembowelled (in the words of Lemebel) his own biological
gender.
The transvestites create a kind of ‘counter femininity’ that is procured through
their display of a ‘counter feminine fashion’ that, although it may be regarded by
some biological women as a mimic excess which borders on parody of the feminine,
becomes the instrument through which their degree of femininity is still measured.
Thus the beauty pageant obliterates the idea of muxe identity as solely aboriginal.
They incorporate, as Wong Ying Wuen suggests with regard to transsexual beauty

12
A sort of marginalization that, in many cases, could lead to the emergence of campfuck (see Subero, 2009) in
those terrains in which economic mobility is almost non-existent.
188 GUSTAVO SUBERO

pageants in Thailand, the notion that the contestants are not only mediating ideas of
aboriginal identity (mainly through their display of ‘typical’ costumes as part of the
contest), but also ‘an American derived notion of glamour and beauty [. . .] often
routed through an approximation or localization of Western models of ideal feminin-
ity’ (2005: 06). This type of femininity is regarded as foreign by the guxanas who
witness such an event and cannot relate to the kind of femininity on display; yet it
has been effectively incorporated into the muxe identity.
Muxeninity, as is the case with other gender identities, is not a rigid manifestation
in the way it is articulated, as not all individuals present a definite set of external
characteristics or features that define them as muxes. Whereas in the West identities
such as drag, transvestism, transsexualism, gay, and lesbian are regarded as different
identities in which the social protagonists want to be regarded as different from one
another (Suthrell, 2004), muxe is a gender identity that gathers under its umbrella a
variety of manifestations of same-sex desire that are not necessarily differentiated
from one another. Muxes come in different shapes and forms, but no one is made
to feel less or more of a muxe because the manifestation of xer muxeninity draws
closer to the feminine original it wishes to imitate. Some muxes look like women, and
there is almost nothing in their external appearance that makes them stand out from
their biological counterparts, whilst others present themselves in what could only be
described as a genderfuck (Butler, 1990; Braidotti, 1991; Schwichtenberg, 1993).13
However, as Miano Borruso (1998) points out, the term muxe does not enjoy any
kind of negative or positive connotation, and it simply functions to describe that third
gender identity that is associated with any form or manifestation of same-sex desire.
Thus in Oaxacan culture the muxe is not considered as an exceptional figure or
someone who is outside the norm, instead xer muxeninity is seen as a natural and
normal part in the generic makeup of that society and xe is valued for a series of
reasons that range from their economic input within the family, the different type
of jobs they do within their community and their emphasis on the reproduction of
a number of elements of Oaxacan cultural traditions. By the same token, Stephen
rightly observes that
Muxe men are not referred to as homosexuals but constitute a separate category based
on gender attributes. People perceive them as having the physical bodies of men but dif-
ferent aesthetic, work, and social skills from most men. They may have some attributes
of women or combine those of men and women. While muxe do not exhibit all of the
characteristics associated with masculinity, neither do they necessarily reject them. (2002:
43)

Since this identity cannot be naturalized through the biology of the body, it is based
on the individual’s performance in creating a convincing gendered self (that is, neither
man nor woman) through a technique of exposure and concealment of the flesh, in
other words the muxe vestida wants to expose as much of xer feminine ‘flesh’ as
possible whilst concealing as much of xer masculine ‘flesh’. Similarly, this distinction
is also noted by Miano Borruso when she points out that

13
A queer gender-act or signification that is based on the emphasis of gender ambiguity that challenges
traditional gender concepts.
 MUXENINITY AND THE INSTITUTIONALIZATION OF A THIRD GENDER 189

una división a grosso modo se da entre los que afirman sentirse ‘como una mujer’ y se
visten y comportan como tal — cultivando cotidianamente una imagen de mujer — y
los que, al contrario, se asumen como hombres con preferencia sexual y emotiva hacia
otro hombre. Al interior de esta polaridad existe toda una amplia gama de posiciones
intermedias entrecruzadas. (1998: 197)

Although it could be argued that Miano Borruso’s claim is very similar to Western
understanding of gayness, the muxes do not consider themselves to be ‘masculine men
who are attracted to other men’ or ‘men trapped in the wrong biological body’, as
has been suggested by Gregory Herek (1991) in his work on prejudice against gays
and lesbians, since such categories are not taken into consideration in the assumption
of their gendered selves. The beauty pageant thus serves as the platform to show the
different kinds of muxeninity that are experienced and recognized within this gender
identity, in which validation as a muxe (although essentially feminine) is gained
through social recognition and acceptance from other people. For instance, amongst
the youngest muxes, who are the keenest participants in the contest, there is more
display of flesh as their tight and provocative dresses show as much of their ‘female’
bodies as possible. However, Islas once again only offers spectators a brief look at
the process of femaling undertaken by the participants. As the camera pans from one
side to another behind the scenes, just moments before the contest is due to begin,
spectators get a glance of the final touches to the personal appearance of both
muxes and other transvestites before they come on stage. Once again there is no
visual detailing of the sort of strategies they have devised to create the gender effect
necessary to provide a believable female persona. Nonetheless, every single protuber-
ance that passes as originally feminine allows the young muxe to out-muxe other
muxes, as xer body comes closer to the original it seeks to imitate. The muxe beauty
pageant contestants are often able to recall the desires and pleasures of being able to
‘parade’ themselves on stage, on winning the crown, and being recognized as the
embodiment of a universal concept of beauty as represented by the contest itself.
Contrastingly, some of the older muxes opt to offer their muxeninity as a spectacle
as part of a drag performance. These muxes provide a moment of entertainment as
part of the beauty pageant in which they imitate well-known singers and performers
from both Mexico and Latin America. As Keith E. McNeal (1999) and also Verta
Taylor and Leila J. Rupp (2004) point out in relation to drag queens in the USA,
the drag act in the Vela also functions as the moment of parodic confrontation that
permits gay and straight audiences to laugh at the exaggerated caricature of woman-
liness presented by the performer. This laughter places every member of the audience
in a different position towards the object laughed at. The young muxes laugh at
the ridiculous imitation of womanliness attained by the drag queen as they do not
threaten, confuse, or even blur gender systems, whilst biological women in the audi-
ence laugh at the performer’s crude remainder that women ‘must attract men through
the artful deployment of feminine signifiers’ (McNeal, 1999: 359) and how much such
signifiers come to operate as the passport to social recognition in heteronormative
societies. In the Vela the drag queen exercises a triple mimetic strategy, that is the
imitation of an imitation of an imitation; she is in the perfect condition to criticize
and call attention ‘to the fragility and difficulty of performing femininity by hetero-
sexual, anatomical women in the audience’ (McNeal, 1999: 359), and the even
190 GUSTAVO SUBERO

harder task of performing femaleness by the muxes. The drag queen’s depiction of
womanliness is essentially parodic and exaggerated so its accuracy is never questioned
by observers, whereas for the muxe female accuracy is paramount in the construction
of an identifiable sexual self.
In conclusion, the Vela de las muxes is the one space that provides social reaffirma-
tion to a third gender identity in which individuals who identify with such identity
demonstrate that, ‘con su simple existencia, que “las normas de la naturaleza” — o
la heterosexualidad como “naturaleza social” — no son tan “naturales” y rígidas
como el sentido común supone, que ser excluyentemente hombre o mujer puede ser
una falsedad, que la “naturaleza” también contempla el “desorden”’ (Miano Borroso,
1998: 221). It is fundamental to understand that what is considered or understood as
muxe throughout the documentary is not a simple gender category that encapsulates
anything outside the heteronormative binary hombre-mujer. Instead, it involves a
series of identities that, in Western academia, range from gay (effeminate or straight
acting) to queer and even genderfuck. What is important about muxes as a distinctive
gender category is the fact that they have a place of their own within the social
dynamics of Oaxacan society, and as such they enjoy social and legal recognition as
well as a degree of citizenship.
Western observers could argue that muxeninity does not offer anything new to the
idea of gender or (homo)sexual identity, as the different types of identities they
present are already constructed and performed in the West; yet muxeninity manages
effectively to gather all different types of manifestations of same-sex desire under a
common ground (without all the political and social debates about gay identity and
citizenship, sexual, and gender inclusivity and exclusivity that prevail in the West).
Muxeninity is the gender identity that includes all sexual and gender manifestations
that break the regulatory binary hombre/mujer and in which muxes can offer their
own, and particular, version and vision of their own gendered self without the need
to fit into a rigid identity category. Muxeninity is the space in between masculinity
and femininity in which subjects construct gender identity by combining a series of
elements pertaining to both maleness and femaleness as part of a single gender iden-
tity. Throughout Islas’s documentary there is a sense that today’s notions of muxes,
as well as the elements and/or practices that make up the idea of muxeninity, are
very variable and tend to adapt to every muxe individual and the way they chose to
display and manifest their gender identity. Such an identity is fluid as the degree of
femininity and/or masculinity on display varies according to the needs and ideas of a
gendered self that every muxe has of xerself. More importantly, the documentary
clearly suggests that most muxes have by now assimilated gay identity as part of their
gender identity although this is not necessarily a prerequisite for muxe kinship. Gay
as a sexual identity has been assimilated by younger generations of muxes who not
only see their identity as part of an intrinsic discourse of race and regional identity,
but also see themselves outside the geographical boundaries of the Juchitán area and
realize they belong to a wider group that seeks recognition of their gender and sexual
identity. In short, Islas’s documentary suggests that there is an institutionalized
third gender in Juchitán that is fully accepted and recognized by almost all sectors of
society.
 MUXENINITY AND THE INSTITUTIONALIZATION OF A THIRD GENDER 191

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Este artículo se centra en el documental de Alejandra Islas: Muxes: auténticas,

intrépidas, buscadoras de peligro (Mexico, 2005) y de cómo el mismo demuestra
que el transgénero se ha convertido en una práctica de género institucionalizada
dentro de la cultura zapoteca. Se argumenta que existe un entendimiento de
las relaciones femeninas y cómo las mismas son experimentadas en el istmo
para poder incluir a las muxes (un término que se usa para designar ‘gays’ y
transgéneros) como parte de la dinámica socio-sexual de la región. El artículo
propone una clasificación de los diferentes tipos de muxenidades (la cual con-
stituye una categoría diferente a la tradicional hombre/mujer) que se encuentra
en esta parte del país y que está basada en los diferentes tipos de muxes
que Islas muestra en el documental. Al mismo tiempo se argumenta que la
 MUXENINITY AND THE INSTITUTIONALIZATION OF A THIRD GENDER 193

muxenidad, como identidad, no es fija o estática sino una entidad en constante

evolución que es (re)construida no solamente a través de la amalgama de la
identidad étnica (zapoteca) y de la identidad transgénero, sino también de la
identidad gay/queer (tal como y se experimenta en las comunidades anglosa-
jonas). Finalmente, se argumenta que la Vela de las muxes es una celebración
que permite la conflagración de una diversidad de expresiones de muxenidad,
mientras que esta identidad de género es múltiple y fluida.

palabras clave identidad zapoteca, muxenidad, muxe, transgénero, Alejandra

Islas

Notes on contributor
Dr Gustavo Subero is Lecturer in Latin American and Caribbean Cultural Studies at
the University of Leicester. He has published widely on representations of queer male
images in fiction and documentary cinema in Latin America and he is currently
preparing a monograph that looks into representations of HIV in Latin America
and the Caribbean, as well as a project that investigates horror cinema in the Latin
American imaginary.
Correspondence to: Dr Gustavo Subero, School of Modern Languages, University
of Leicester, University Road, Leicester le1 7rh, UK. Email: gs232@le.ac.uk
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