ask each other

Article

Hombres Mujeres: An Indigenous Third Gender

Alfredo Mirandé1

Abstract This article interrogates West and Zimmerman’s Doing Gender paradigm by examining the Muxes of Juchitán, a little known third gender in El Istmo de Tehuantepec, Oaxaca México. After presenting preliminary findings based on per- sonal interviews with forty-two muxes and forty-eight community members, dis- tinguishing between muxes and gays and describing the wide variation in the muxe lifestyle, the essay concludes that muxes are a third sex/gender category that is actively redoing the prevailing Western gender binary as well as traditional Mexican conceptions of gender and sexuality. They are an indigenous third sex/gender category, which is less about Western conceptions of sexuality, sexual identity, or doing transgender and more about retaining the language, cultural categories, practices, and worldviews of indigenous communities.

Keywords muxe, Zapotec, two-spirit, third gender

This essay presents findings from an ethnographic study of the Muxes of Juchitán to

extend the debate engendered by West and Zimmerman’s (1987, 2009) Doing Gen-

der, which attempted to explain how gender is created and reproduced in society.

The muxes (pronounced ‘‘Moo-shey’’), an understudied indigenous group in El

Istmo de Tehuantepec, Oaxaca México, have been described as a third sex/gender

1 Department of Sociology, University of California, Riverside, CA, USA

Corresponding Author:

Alfredo Mirandé, Department of Sociology, University of California, 1219 Watkins Hall, 900 University

Ave., Riverside, CA 92521, USA.

Email: [email protected]

Men and Masculinities 2016, Vol. 19(4) 384-409

ª The Author(s) 2015 Reprints and permission:

sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/1097184X15602746

jmm.sagepub.com

category (Bennholdt-Thomsen 1997, 283) analogous to the institutionalized third

gender found among some Native American groups (Whitehead 1981; Williams

1986), the hijras of India and South Asia (Reddy 2005), and Moana values and

worldviews expressed by certain Pacific Islander groups, including the Tongan

Leiti, the Samoan Fa’afaine, and the Mahu in Tahiti and French Polynesia; biolo-

gical males who manifest feminine identities in a number of ways (Halapua 2006,

26).

Muxes are biological males who also manifest feminine identities in their dress

and attire, but they are not transsexual nor are they seeking to become women. They

both self-identify and are generally recognized and accepted as a third gender, rather

than as men or women, adopting characteristics of each gender. While lacking the

religious significance associated with Two-Spirit indigenous persons, hijras, and the

aforementioned Pacific Islander groups, muxes may have had such significance in

pre-Colombian times (Chiñas 2002, 109; Lacey 2008; Williams 1986, 135).

Nearly three decades after West and Zimmerman’s article first appeared, doing

gender theory has been so widely accepted that it may have reached a canonical

or law-like status (Jurik and Simen 2009). In fact, some argue that it ‘‘has become

the hegemonic theoretical framework for understanding gender’’ (C. Connell

2010, 31) and the ‘‘point of reference for Anglophone gender analysis’’ (R. Connell

2009, 105).

This essay seeks both to expound and expand on the doing gender debate by pro-

posing that, like Two-Spirit native people, muxes are a unique group of indigenous

men who upend conventional conceptions of sex category, gender, sexuality, and the

gender binary by openly dressing in female Zapotec attire and assuming traditional

feminine roles while being accepted and well integrated into the larger Zapotec com-

munity. Muxes also take us beyond the conventional gay/straight, object choice

Western binary in that their sexual partners are not other muxes or gay men but hom-

bres. I also seek to place these findings in a global indigenous context and suggest

that muxes are a third sex/gender category that cannot be understood by traditional

conceptions of gender and sexuality like those articulated by West and Zimmerman

(1987), Butler (1990, 2004), Lorber (2005, 2006), and other doing gender scholars or

within the rapidly emerging field of transgender studies (see Stryker 2008, 2013;

Valentine 2007).

After presenting a brief overview of the doing gender in the workplace literature,

the essay begins by discussing the increased recognition of Two-Spirit persons

among indigenous communities in North America, and attempts to link the literature

on the muxes to this movement. After discussing the methods and sample employed

in the study, I then present the major findings, focusing on the primary muxe orga-

nization, Las Auténticas Intrépidas Buscadoras del Peligro (Las Intrépidas) and the

great Intrépida Vela (community festival and dance). I conclude by discussing how

sexuality and gender are defined and manifested in Juchitán and profile a wide range

and variation in the muxe lifestyle and experience.

Mirandé 385

The essay concludes by placing these preliminary findings in a global indigenous

context that challenges West and Zimmerman’s (2009) assertion that it is impossible

to ‘‘undo gender’’ and suggesting that muxes are a third sex/gender category that is

actively redoing the prevailing Western gender binary as well as traditional Mexican

conceptions of gender and sexuality. In the end, I argue that muxes are an indigenous

third sex/gender category, which is less about sexuality, sexual identity, or doing

transgender and more about retaining the language, cultural categories, practices,

and worldviews of indigenous communities.

Doing Gender, Work, and the Muxes

Doing Gender in the Workplace: A Brief Overview of the Literature

West and Zimmerman first challenged the prevailing role theory model of gender

differences in 1987 by drawing on Garfinkel’s (1967) ethnomethodological case

study of Agnes, a preoperative transsexual raised as a boy who adopted a female

identity as a teenager. They proposed a distinct sociological understanding of gender

‘‘as a routine, methodical, and recurring accomplishment’’ and rather than viewing

gender as an internal property, they saw it as emergent from social situations and

external to the individual (West and Zimmerman 1987, 31).

In elaborating their theory, West and Zimmerman (1987, 2009) were careful to

distinguish among sex, sex category, and gender. Sex refers to socially constructed

biological criteria used in classifying individuals as female or male, such as genital

differences at birth or chromosomal differences. Persons are then placed in a sex

category through the application of these socially constructed indicators, but in

everyday life such classification is created and maintained ‘‘by socially required

identification displays that proclaim one’s membership in one or the other category’’

(West and Zimmerman 1987, 127). Although sex category presupposes one’s sex

and often serves as a proxy for sex, the two can and do vary independently, so that

like Agnes who had to preserve the secret of her penis and present herself to society

as a woman, one can declare membership in a sex category even when the socially

constructed sex criteria are absent (West and Zimmerman 1987, 2009).1 Gender, on

the other hand, entails the process of managing behavior according to normative

conceptions of appropriate attitudes and actions that are deemed to correspond to

one’s sex category. Such membership activities in turn develop from and reinforce

one’s sex category.

Critical works have started to focus not only on doing gender but on how one goes

about ‘‘undoing’’ and ‘‘redoing’’ gender by questioning the prevailing gender binary

and promoting social change (Butler 1990, 2004; Deutsch 2007; Risman 2009;

Lorber 2005, 2006). Lorber (2005), for example, uses the metaphor of ‘‘breaking the

bowls’’ and calls for a deliberate degendering of society in order to promote equality

and social change (2006).

386 Men and Masculinities 19(4)

Although the debate has been mostly theoretical (C. Connell 2010), an emerging

body of empirical work has looked at how transgender persons have attempted to

undo the heteronormative binary model. Not surprisingly, some of this research has

examined the workplace experiences of transgender-identified individuals2 (C. Con-

nell 2010). Transgender persons are not only able to transcend conventional notions

about how one goes about doing gender in their daily interactions (Deutsch 2007;

Risman 2009) but also to alter and expand norms associated with gender (C. Connell

2010).

Drawing on an empirical analysis of nineteen in-depth interviews with transgen-

der persons, Catherine Connell, for example, reports how they negotiate and manage

gender interactions in the workplace in order to critique West and Zimmerman’s

notion of doing gender. Five of the nineteen transgender persons in C. Connell’s

study were described as doing gender in the same sense that others do gender on

a daily basis. Rather than coming out and challenging the gender binary by publicly

declaring their transgender status, they were quietly performing ‘‘stealth’’ in the

workplace, and coworkers did not identify them as transgender (C. Connell 2010).3

The remaining fourteen participants, on the other hand, were said to be undoing

or redoing gender or doing transgender because they were ‘‘out’’ and their cowor-

kers, friends, and family knew they were transgender. While these persons blended

masculine and feminine gender performances, they ‘‘often felt they were gender dis-

ciplined and/or reinterpreted according to conventional gender norms’’ (C. Connell

2010, 40).4 While many transgender persons believe that they are radically altering

the gender binary, most are in fact directly and indirectly supporting or reifying the

very system they are seeking to change (Gagné, Tewksbury, and McGaughey

1997),5 supporting West and Zimmerman’s (2009) assertion that it is impossible

to undo gender and that attempts to change and subvert the gender binary only work

to reinforce it.

Work, Sexuality, and Gender in Juchitán

Despite the obvious theoretical and practical significance of the emergent research

on doing and redoing gender in the workplace, it is not without limitations

(C. Connell 2010; Deutsch 2007; Risman 2009; Schilt 2006; Gagné, Tewksbury,

and McGaughey 1997; Rosenfeld 2009). One limitation, as noted, is that in

attempting to reconfigure sex and gender roles in the workplace, transgender per-

sons may inadvertently reinforce the gender binary and heteronormative system

that they are seeking to challenge. A second, related limitation is that such

research is based on the sex/gender binary, which tends to conflate sex, sex cate-

gory, and gender. In Juchitán, on the other hand, sex, sex category, and gender are

separate and somewhat independent entities. Muxes identify with lo femenino or

what is feminine and many dress in traditional female attire, but they are not gen-

erally seeking to be transgender, or to be accepted as women.

Mirandé 387

Regardless of their dress or appearance, they are recognized as muxe by the com-

munity and by gay identified men. Biinizia informed me that a number of muxes

have eschewed professions and occupations that would require them to adhere to

modern and rigid masculine and feminine forms of attire. Interestingly, muxes do

not seek to go stealth by dressing in Western female attire because as Intrépidas, they

in fact aspire to maintain their Zapotec dress, language, and customs. It should also

be noted that there is no traditional male Zapotec way of dressing. Men at the velas,

religiously inspired four-day festivals, are expected to wear black pants and a white

guayabera (a loose fitting tropical shirt), but this form of dress is found throughout

Mexico, although muxes often adorn these shirts with brightly colored flowers and

embroidery.

I argue that in Juchitán, sex, sex category, and gender are upended and do not

necessarily correspond. Ironically, acceptance of muxes as a third sex/gender

category may be facilitated, not only by a sharp division of sex roles but also by the

prevalence of gender equity in Isthmus Zapotec society (Chiñas 2002; Bennholdt-

Thomsen 1997). Juchitán is not a matriarchal society,6 but a matrifocal family

system which persists in the face of patriarchy, where both men and women have

important cultural and ritual roles and where women exercise a great deal of power

and autonomy economically, socially, and in the kinship system (Chiñas 2002;

Bennholdt-Thomsen 1997). Because women assume the role of merchants and tra-

ders in the market they also control family resources and are recognized as economic

heads of households.

El Mercado (the market) has been described as ‘‘The Heart of Juchitán’’

(Bennholdt-Thomsen 1997, 67) and is controlled by women. Juchitecas (Tecas) have

a reputation for being hard workers and interestingly, when a man works hard, he is

praised because ‘‘he knows how to work like a woman’’ (Bennholdt-Thomsen 1997,

281). A man who works hard is treated like a muxe and accepted in the market not

because he is a woman but because he works like one.

The idea of going stealth in the workplace is antithetical to muxe identity since

their workplace, or better yet, their work ethic, defines their identity. Like the

women of Juchitán, muxes are praised for being very hardworking. Even those who

do not dress in feminine attire are openly recognized as a third sex category and take

on the characteristics of each gender. They are seen as neither women nor as men but

like the Zuni Man/Woman or Hombres/Mujeres, as combining and incorporating

dimensions of each gender. When asked whether they identify as men or women,

muxes invariably responded that they are neither; they are muxe; a third gender that

combines male and female traits that belie the prevailing Western gender binary.

Muxes are therefore continuously not only doing but also redoing gender.

In an interesting reversal in Juchitán, lighter work associated with music,

poetry, and art is typically defined as men’s domain, whereas heavy work like

working in the market and preparing for velas is defined as women’s domain.

Intermediate activities like making decorations for the velas and fiestas do not

readily fit into one of these categories and are considered an appropriate realm

388 Men and Masculinities 19(4)

of work for muxes. They design, embroider, and make traditional feminine Zapotec

attire. Several of the persons interviewed like Mayté and Darina designed decorations,

huipiles (traditional dresses), and/or high fashion dresses, work that is valued and in

high demand.

Literature Review: Two-spirit Peoples and the Muxes of Juchitán

In the 1980s, the so-called Anthropology of the Berdache was criticized by Native

peoples in North America as gay, lesbian, and transgender indigenous anthropolo-

gists sought to ‘‘displace colonial knowledge by making Native knowledge the

methodological ground of research by and for Native peoples’’ (Morgensen 2011,

139; Lang 1998, 7). The emergence of Two-Spirit Identity represented a critique

of the Anthropology of the Berdache (Whitehead 1981) and of Western notions of

gender and sexuality (Driskill et al. 2011a). Will Roscoe’s book (1991), The Zuni

Man-Woman, for example, argued that the Zuni Llhamana represented a third gender

status which combined the work and traits of both men and women. The Lhamana

was ‘‘less about sexual identity and more about the cultural categories of indigenous

communities’’ (Driskill et al. 2011a, 12). The newer Two-Spirit or ‘‘Two-Spirited’’

term confronts the Anthropology of the Berdache and refers to gender constructions

and roles that occur in many native or indigenous communities outside the Western

gender binary as well as to Native people who are now reclaiming and redefining

these roles within their respective communities (Driskill et al. 2011b).

The muxes are also indigenous persons who speak Zapotec, lead very public lives

24/7, live within a society and culture which, like the Zuni man-woman, recognizes

the existence of an indigenous third sex/gender category that is neither male nor

female but muxe. While most muxes cross-dress and are called vestidas, some only

dress for the fiestas, yet there is no necessary relationship between being muxe and

cross-dressing.

While there is an extensive body of research on Juchitán and surrounding Isthmus

communities, most of this research has focused either on its rich history and legacy

of political resistance in the region (Campbell et al. 1993) or on the women of Juchi-

tán and the so-called Isthmus matriarchy (Bennholdt-Thomsen 1997). Juchitán is

perhaps best known as the home of, Coalición Obrera Campesina Estudiantil del

Istmo (COCEI) a radical leftist Worker–Peasant–Student indigenous coalition that

has dominated politics in the region for the last thirty years (Campbell, Bindford,

Bartolomé, and Barabas 1993, xviii).

The literature on the muxes is limited and has been conducted primarily by out-

siders. Beverly Newbold Chiñas (2002), for example, an American anthropologist,

studied The Isthmus Zapotecs and devoted a scant four pages near the end of her slim

book to the muxes. In the Preface to The Isthmus Zapotecs, Chiñas acknowledges

that she entered the field not only ‘‘uninvited, unannounced, and unexpected,’’ but

Mirandé 389

ultimately unwelcomed and a number of women in the market refused to answer her

questions (Newbold Chiñas 2002, xii).

A team of German anthropologists headed by Bennholdt-Thomsen (1997) simi-

larly focused mostly on women and the matriarchal nature of Zapotec society but

only the last chapter of their excellent book, Juchitán, la ciudad de las mujeres, is

devoted to the muxes. To date, the definitive work on the muxes was carried out

by the now deceased Italian anthropologist, Marinella Miano Borruso. Her out-of-

print Spanish language book, Hombre, mujer y muxe’: en el Istmo de Tehuantepec

(Miano Borruso 2002) presents the life history of a Zapotec woman from birth to

death. Another account is a short pamphlet, Las Otras Hijas de San Vicente pub-

lished in Oaxaca by a Juchiteco, Elı́ Valentı́n Bartolo Marcial in 2010.

Method and Sample

Preliminary field research in Juchitán was conducted on four separate occasions in

2009, 2011, 2013, and 2014 through participant observation, attendance at muxe

velas (festivals), and conducting open-ended interviews with a purposive sample

of muxes and a select group of community members. Many of the muxes inter-

viewed were directly or indirectly associated with a local muxe organization, Las

Auténticas Intrépidas Buscadoras del Peligro (The Authentic, Fearless Seekers of

Danger) which has been in existence for almost forty years. The longevity of the

Intrépida organization speaks to its public acceptance by the business community,

political leaders, and even the Catholic Church. Leaders of the organization proudly

proclaimed that members and associates of Las Intrépidas come from all walks of

life, including accountants, lawyers, teachers, politicians, and merchants.

The name Intrépidas is significant because it connotes that the group’s members

represent muxes who are authentic and fearless seekers of danger. Members are in

fact committed to taking on unpopular or controversial issues, including sex educa-

tion, safe sex, AIDS awareness, and the eradication of domestic violence. The name

Intrépida (fearless) also suggests that one is not going stealth or in the closet.

Although a Mexican national, bilingual and bicultural, and a heterosexual male, I

was an outsider who was neither Zapoteco nor muxe, and expected that it would be

difficult to gain access to members of the organization. I found muxes to be surpris-

ingly warm, inviting, eager to talk about, and share their experiences. My initial con-

tacts in Juchitán were made through social notables, a term employed by Wayne

Cornelius (1982) and by Cecilia Menjı́var (2000). A critical social notable was

Felina, the owner of a salon that bears her name and who is past president of Las

Intrépidas. Felina’s Estética is both a salon and a place where muxes congregate

daily. It became a place I frequented often, where I made contacts, and conducted

interviews with Intrépidas and community members. It was also a communication

center where people left messages or met with me for interviews. I also obtained

referrals from other persons I came into contact with like the staff at the hotel where

I stayed. Davı́d, a young trainer at a local gym where I worked out, provided a great

390 Men and Masculinities 19(4)

deal of information on Juchitán and community views on various issues, referred me

to one of the gay men whom I interviewed. Roque, a hair stylist, and Gabriel, a per-

son who sells computer networks, were other persons I befriended who also served

as social notables and greatly facilitated the research. I also attended a number of

local community events and activities hosted by Las Intrépidas, which yielded more

contacts and served as occasions for participant observation.

The study used a wide range of qualitative research methods, including archival

research, ethnographic field research, participant observation, and in-depth personal

interviews. Through these contacts, I was able to observe, engage in informal con-

versations, and conduct forty-two open-ended interviews with muxes at Felina’s

Hair Salon, the velas, restaurants, Intrépida basketball games, and other locales.

An additional forty-eight interviews were carried out with community members in

order to assess their views of muxes. These included ordinary citizens in Juchitán

and the surrounding communities as well as other social notables like two priests

at the San Vicente Ferrer Parish, the Assistant to the Municipal President, the Assis-

tant Director of the local Colegio Nacional de Educación Profesional Técnica (CON-

ALEP), (National School for Professional Technical Education), a government

supported vocational/trade high school, and a staff worker at Ama la vida (Gunaxhı́l

Guendanabani) an organization devoted to the prevention of HIV, which has been in

existence for twenty years. Finally, I conducted interviews with five self-described

gay men who were not muxe.

The interview schedule was open-ended, lasted approximately forty-five minutes,

and covered a broad range of topics, including where the person was born and grew up,

what their parents did for a living, when the person first realized he was muxe, how

their families responded to their sexual orientation and lifestyle, whether they were

teased, harassed, or bullied as children and adolescents, how muxes were distinct from

gay men, whether they were, or had been, in a stable relationship with a man, as well

as the accomplishments and challenges faced by Las Intrépidas as an organization and

their societal acceptance in the community at large. All interviews were conducted in

Spanish, audio-recorded, translated into English, and transcribed by the author.

Because many muxes have adopted feminized or artistic names, I generally use the

feminine pronoun when referring to persons like Biiniza or Felina who are vestidas

and clearly assume a feminized identity and persona and the masculine pronoun and

pseudonyms for those who have not adopted a feminine persona. Some muxes alter-

nate between the masculine and feminine pronoun. Kike, a well-known travesti,7 and

performance artist, for example, uses Kike in his daily life as a hair stylist and Kika

when he transforms into a woman. He even refers to himself in the third person as

La Kika. Muxes appear to use the pronoun ‘‘he’’ when referring to a person’s total per-

sona, including childhood, and ‘‘she’’ when referring to the current person as a muxe,

but they are not particularly concerned with whether one uses the masculine or fem-

inine pronoun to describe them. One muxe, Roque, commented to me that the pronoun

reference really didn’t matter because he or she was still the same person.

Mirandé 391

Findings

Community Acceptance: La Gran Intrépida Vela (Festival)

The Intrépida Vela is a three-day marathon celebration held on the third weekend in

November and the culmination of the group’s activities for the year. It represents the

most important and visible illustration of how muxes are accepted by their commu-

nity. About 10,000 people attend the vela annually, including family, friends, and

people from other parts of México and abroad. Friday begins with the Tirada de

Fruta, a carnivalesque parade with colorful floats where the Intrépidas throw candy,

cookies, and a variety of household items like utensils and Tupperware to the crowd.

On the second day, the muxe mass, the great dance and crowning of the Intrépida

Queen are held, while the third, La Lavada de Ollas, which literally means the wash-

ing of the dishes or pans, is a more informal and laid back day with a dance and party

that takes place on Sunday afternoon and where muxes are more likely to dress in

regional native attire in brightly colored, flowered huipiles (blouses), and nahuas

(skirts).

The first year I attended the vela, Felina told me that people would be going to the

outdoor amphitheater where it was being held to set up the night before the event. I

decided to help set up as this provided me with an opportunity to hang out with

muxes and see them relate to one another in an informal setting while they worked,

joked, and drank. Each Intrépida staked out an area for a puesto (booth) for invited

guests and set up wooden chairs and plastic tables in the center in a rectangular,

horseshoe shape. I befriended a muxe named Mandis, and helped him set up by

opening and arranging wooden chairs. It took about three hours.

Mandis appeared to be about seventy with thinning hair, a founding member of

Las Intrépidas, and one of the muxes who do not cross-dress or wear traditional

female Zapotec clothing, although he does wear some makeup.8 When I asked Man-

dis about this, he explained that he could not cross-dress because he works for the

government in the Office of Tourism. After we finished setting up, someone brought

out liter size bottles of beer and people started to drink and socialize.

By the next day, the venue was magically transformed for the vela. It was hard to

believe that this was the same dusty field we set up the previous day. White canopies

had been placed around each area with lighting. Three stages were colorfully deco-

rated and well lit; two stages were for the bands and the other for the celebration and

crowning of the new Queen. The Intrépida event was held by invitation only and

interestingly, the entrance ‘‘fee’’ was a case of beer purchased at the door. This is

consistent with the spirit of reciprocity engendered in the community. I bought

my case of beer, put it on my shoulder, walked in, went directly to Mandis’ puesto,

and handed it to him. He greeted me, embraced me, and graciously accepted it.

I walked around and visited with Ángel who introduced me to another muxe who,

along with Mandis, was one of the founders of the Las Intrépidas organization some

thirty-five years earlier. Ángel was very engaging, had a shaved head, and like Man-

dis, did not dress in feminine attire, but wore dark lipstick and some makeup. He was

392 Men and Masculinities 19(4)

dressed in a white outfit with a vest, a large necklace, silver top hat, gray cape, and

carried a black cane, an outfit one might see at Carnaval or Mardi Gras. He told me

that he makes his own outfit every year. He also said that the prior year, Mandis and

some of the other Intrépidas had him go home and change because his outfit was too

outrageous and embarrassing.

Like the venue itself, entertainment at the vela was impressive. There were two

masters of ceremony. Three bands played, with the most famous of them, La Sonora

Dinamita, an iconic Colombian band that was reputedly paid $12,000 (US dollars) to

perform. The event was a gala affair with a red carpet and lots of paparazzi pushing,

fighting, and shoving each other to get a good view of the contestants. It was very

difficult to see the contestants as they came down the red carpet. A special guest was

a tall, statuesque black supermodel from Guatemala named Karen Davis.

Prior to the coronation, fifty muxes were introduced, including former Muxe

Queens like Felina, muxes who lived in cities throughout Oaxaca, and those from

other regions. The ceremony had all of the trappings of a traditional beauty pageant.9

The culmination of the evening was the introduction of Queen Darina I, and her

court, which consisted of eight male dancers of about the same age. Darina is a

young muxe I later interviewed who is a seamstress and also worked at a bar.

On Saturday morning, a mass was held for the muxes. Two muxe groups attended

and each had mayordomos or sponsors for the vela and carried a banner or standard.

The Intrépidas standard read, Las Auténticas Intrépidas Buscadoras del Peligro.

Most of the muxes were dressed in traditional Juchiteca (Teca), attire with flowers

and ribbons in their hair and wore a lot of gold jewelry. The priest, Father Pancho,

talked about the muxes in his sermon and formally welcomed their organization into

the Church, much like he might welcome the Knights of Columbus or other groups.

He formally recognized their new mayordomos who went up to the altar in a proces-

sion that honored their sponsorship of the vela. The priest engaged in a traditional

ceremony that signaled the changing of the guard through the exchange of ceremo-

nial candles between the old and new mayordomos.

In reflecting on the mass, I was surprised not only that the local Catholic Church was

so welcoming of the muxes but that they dedicated a mass to them. Like the Leiti, Fa’fa-

fine, and Mahu in Polynesia, muxes are widely accepted in the community (Halapua

2006, 35). When I interviewed Father Pancho on my second visit to Juchitán, he told

me that the muxes were a part of the community and accepted like everyone else.

The crowds that gathered for La Regada de Frutas also reflected the acceptance

of muxes in the community. It was interesting to sit outside of Felina’s Estética and

see families and children lining the street along the parade route, just like people in

the United States would line up for a Fourth of July Parade. At a subsequent Tirada, I

met a thirty-something mother, Brenda, who was also waiting patiently with her two

young children. She defined muxes as a Zapotec word that means someone who is

biologically male but has the social characteristics of a woman and said muxes were

accepted because ‘‘They are now part of our culture; not something separate and

apart.’’ This was a typical response from a number of citizens I interviewed.

Mirandé 393

‘‘A Blessing from God?’’

The prevailing view in the community propagated by a number of books (Chiñas

2002; Bennholdt-Thomsen 1997) and documentaries (Hernández 2003) on the

muxes of Juchitán is that being muxe is not a voluntary choice. Zapotec parents,

especially mothers and women in general, readily defend them and their right to

‘‘be themselves’’ and often say that ‘‘God made them that way’’ (Chiñas 2002,

1009). When I asked the father of a muxe named César how he felt about having

a muxe child, he responded, ‘‘Ası́ nació’’ (That’s how he was born). ‘‘Of course, I

accept him, what else could I do.’’ The words were spoken without reproach and

in a matter-of-fact way, as if being muxe was a part of nature and he didn’t try to

understand or question something that was natural.

Since being muxe is seen as an immutable characteristic, perhaps it is not surpris-

ing that people readily distinguish between genuine muxes and those who simply

cross-dress or mimic the muxe lifestyle. Biiniza, for example, noted that there were

only a handful of muxes among the hundreds of transvestite men who were in atten-

dance at a recent Muxe Vela in the city of Oaxaca.

Some Zapotec parents responded that they are not embarrassed or burdened by

having a son who is muxe. On the contrary, to have a muxe son is sometimes

viewed a blessing from God because they generally do not leave home and stay

through adulthood to help their parents, unlike other men who get married and

leave. A team of German anthropologists have argued in fact that societal accep-

tance of the muxes is such that it would be misleading and condescending to say

they are tolerated, since this implies token or reluctant acceptance (Bennholdt-

Thomsen 1997, 280).

At the same time that muxes are generally accepted in the community and

some Zapotec parents may see them as a blessing from God, there is an inherent

contradiction between this public perception and the lived experiences of many

of the muxes who were interviewed in this study. Perhaps it was Father Luis

who best described this contradiction when he observed that Zapotec culture

is very familistic and that while most families ultimately accept muxe children,

such children are accepted not so much because they are muxe but because they

are part of the family. It is one thing to say that muxes are generally accepted in

Juchitán, and certainly more accepted than they are in other parts of Mexico,

and quite another to suggest that there is total and universal acceptance of the

muxe lifestyle. The findings of this study challenge the commonly held assump-

tion that having a muxe child is generally seen as a blessing from God. While

some Zapotec families like Carmelo’s (Lacey 2008), César’s, and Roque’s read-

ily accepted muxe children, a majority of the muxes I interviewed, including

Anilú, Kike/a, Estrellita, Coni, Gabriel, Biiniza, Felina, and Huicho reported

having difficult and traumatic childhood experiences and not being readily

accepted by their parents, especially their fathers, although most did ultimately

accept them. The muxes employed in traditional professions such as teaching,

394 Men and Masculinities 19(4)

accounting, politics, and government service (e.g., Mandis, Felixa, and Enrique)

also noted that it would not be acceptable for them to wear feminine attire in the

workplace. Finally, a number of persons reported that mayates, heterosexual

men who have sex with muxes, were not viewed favorably in the community.

Sexuality, Hybridity, and the Latino Sexual/Gender System

One thing that distinguishes muxes from gays is that they do not date or have sex

with one another and that their sexual partners are hombres, or straight men. Gay

bars or muxe clubs also do not exist in Juchitán because muxes are integrated into

the entire community. Almost all of the muxes I interviewed also said they assumed

the pasivo (passive/insertee) rather than the activo (active/inserter) role in both oral

and anal sex, and they all indicated that they preferred hombres as sexual partners.

Roque, for example, has not assumed a feminine persona but identified as muxe

and was affiliated with the Intrépidas. He noted that his first sexual experience

occurred when he was in Prepa (high school). It was consensual and the other boy

‘‘era un hombre.’’ He has had a number of novios (boyfriends) but has never lived

with them. He always assumes the pasivo role during sex and acted as if that was the

only natural thing for him; otherwise he would be un hombre. He has been in long-

term relationships, one lasting eight years, and sometimes goes out in public with his

partner. Others want to keep it on the ‘‘down low’’ but Roque is open about his rela-

tionships. He just ended a relationship and started to say that they had unos proble-

mas (some problems), then corrected himself, and added, ‘‘Well it wasn’t problems.

It was that I learned that he was married and I don’t want anything to do with that.’’ It

was evident that he didn’t want to incur any problems or retributions from his part-

ner’s family. He mentioned that there were some men who only had sex with muxes

and yet identified as hombres. Hombres who regularly have sex with muxes are

known as mayates, a term that literally refers to a dung beetle, and are generally dis-

dained by the community. People also distinguished between a mayate who has sex

for money or gifts (comprado) and el marido del muxe (a muxe’s husband).

Muxe sexuality should also be examined within the context of the larger Mexican

and Latino/Latina sexual system. Sociologist Tomás Almaguer (2001) and a number

of anthropologists (Carrier 1976; Lancaster 1987; Parker 1986; Taylor 1986) have

pointed to the inapplicability of Western categories of sexual meaning for under-

standing sexuality in México and Latino América. According to this line of research,

in the contemporary United States, sexual categories and personages are determined

by sexual preference or object choice. Same sex is viewed as gay and its opposite as

nongay, whereas those who have sex with both sexes are categorized as bisexual

(Almaguer 2001). This categorization has resulted in a general prohibition of all

same-sex behavior in the United States.

In México and Latino América, on the other hand, sexuality is divided into two

basic categories—pasivos and activos (Taylor 1986). Pasivos (passives) are those

who are insertees or have the penis of another man inserted into one of their orifices,

Mirandé 395

usually the anus, whereas activos (actives) are inserters. According to this view,

some Mexican and Latino men can and do engage in sex with other men without

impugning their masculinity, as long as they retain the dominant activo or inserter

position in the sexual act. Within this sexual system, gay and straight status are thus

determined not by object choice, but by the respective power of the participants. A

person is considered a maricón (gay), a joto (queer), or a puto (fag), only if he

assumes the passive, insertee role in the sexual act (Almaguer 2001). Not only is the

active partner not stigmatized, but he may be recognized as muy macho. Muxes sim-

ply described their partners as hombres because they assume the dominant activo

inserter position. My research did not reveal any derogatory references to muxes

in their role as pasivos.

The fact that muxes do not have sexual relations with each other is also consistent

with the observation that the third sex/gender status is defined not so much by same-

sex behavior as it is by the prohibition against sex with members of the same-sex/

gender status (Callender and Kochems 1986). One may have sex either with men

or women, but not with other muxes.

A number of recent studies focusing on sexuality and gay and transvestite men in

México are relevant to this discussion. One of the most important of these works is

Annick Prieur’s (1998) ethnographic study, Mema’s House, Mexico City: On Trans-

vestites, Queens, and Machos carried out in Nezahualcóyotl, a poor and crowded

urban area on the outskirts of Mexico City. The house provides a place where a

group of young homosexual men live or meet to do what they could not do openly

at home. Although there are no quantitative studies on the subject, Prieur claims that

‘‘It is not at all unusual for Mexican men from the working class to have sexual

experiences with men, at least during certain periods of their lives’’ (1998, 180).

In his study of sexuality in Guadalajara, Héctor Carrillo (2002) similarly argues

that in the Mexicano/Latino sexual model, it is not necessary to know the sex or

object choice of one’s sexual partner in order to determine ‘‘normality.’’ The model

assumes that masculine men are attracted to women and that feminine women are

attracted to men (Carrillo 2002, 39). But it also contends that men assume a more

dominant role in sexuality as the active inserter partner, while women assume the

more passive receptor role. The second assumption ‘‘validates the notion often asso-

ciated with machismo, that the realm of the masculine dominates over the feminine

(and by extension that men are superior to women)’’ (2002, 39).

While muxes distinguish themselves from gays, it would be wrong to conclude

that muxes are impervious to the larger Mexican gay universe. Carrillo, for example,

points to the existence of sexual hybridity and the coexistence of older gender-based

conceptions of sexuality and emergent object choice interpretations of sexuality,

resulting in the proliferation of seemingly contradictory interpretations based on

competing logics, which are not seeing as contradictory or incompatible. While it

would be problematic to see muxes simply as gay men, neither are they altogether

dissimilar from some Mexican gay men, and in this sense they may occupy a hybrid

location within the larger universe of Mexican sexualities and homosexualities.

396 Men and Masculinities 19(4)

On the surface at least, muxe sexuality, for example, appears similar to that of

Mexican gay-identified men, like the Jota’s in Prieur’s book. Like muxes, there are

gay men throughout Mexico who maintain gender-based interpretations of sexuality

and gendered sexual roles, becoming vestidas, adopting a feminine persona, or con-

sistently playing the pasivo role during anal sexual intercourse. Also, like the muxes,

these gendered gay men seek partners who are masculine men, hombres, or even

‘‘hombres hombres,’’ a term which designates that they are real heterosexual men

and not gay men posing as hombres.

Carrillo has similarly pointed to the coexistence of two different and seemingly

contradictory perceptions of sexuality in Mexico. The first, or Western object choice

view is that all men who have sex with each other are homosexual, while the second,

or traditional Mexican gender-based approach holds that to be a homosexual one

must assume the pasivo role of a woman, which ironically ‘‘brings one of the homo-

sexual partners into the realm of heterosexuality’’ (Carrillo 2002, 81). One of

Carrillo’s heterosexual respondents, Gerardo, assumed that the inserter partner could

potentially also have sex with a woman ‘‘but if this partner was not interested in

women, in effect we would have the paradoxical case of a heterosexual man who

is not attracted to women’’ (2002, 81).

The findings of this study suggest not only that muxes are able to maintain a

sexual/gender hybridity that enables them to adopt seemingly contradictory percep-

tions of sexuality that extend beyond the sex/gender hybridity identified by Carrillo

for Mexican gay men. While most muxes are pasivos, seek hombres as sexual part-

ners, and are not attracted or sexually involved with other muxes or with women,

some like Armando, Enrique, and Huicho engage in bisexual behaviors and a num-

ber of muxes are married to women and have children and a few like Kika also do not

assume the pasivo role in anal intercourse. In addition, the gender roles assumed by

muxes are varied and range from those who are vestidas and dress in traditional fem-

inine Zapotec attire, to pintadas who wear some makeup or might simply have long

hair or wear their hair a ponytail, to those who simply wear brightly colored guaya-

beras or a gold rings and gold necklaces.

Gays, Muxes, and Zapoteco Culture

From the preceding, it is clear that while muxes are similar to Mexican locas who

assume the pasivo role in sexual relations, it would be erroneous to see them as gay

men. Muxes, in fact, are generally careful to distinguish themselves from gays, and

gays are even more emphatic in distancing themselves from muxes. Coni, one of the

Intrépidas, noted that gays are more masculine and less visible publicly because

most remain in the closet. In contrast, muxes are out, very visible, and many dress

in traditional feminine native attire. It was interesting that she linked being muxe not

only to being out but with maintaining Zapoteco culture, traditions, and retaining the

language. She added that most Intrépidas were indigenous, spoke Zapoteco, and esti-

mated that some ‘‘60 percent of families in Juchitán had one or more family

Mirandé 397

members who were muxe’’ and that muxes were generally more accepted in the

poorer, largely indigenous sections of the city. Mayté similarly expressed the view

that all muxes were Intrépidas at heart because they had the courage to come out and

be open about their sexuality, even if they were not members of the organization.

Kike(a) added that gays are more reserved in their dress. Muxes ‘‘son más abiertos’’

(are more open, public, and out of the closet). ‘‘We can dress in a manly way or as

women. We are like a third sex,’’ he said.

Biiniza, an Intrépida who always dresses in regional feminine attire was perhaps

most eloquent, when she expressed that ‘‘being muxe is not something you put on

and then take off like a dress. It’s a way of being that includes not only dressing like

a traditional Teca but also maintaining, incorporating, and respecting Zapotec lan-

guage, customs, and traditions.’’ One of the pressing concerns faced by the Intrépi-

das is being able to recruit more members who will represent the organization and

maintain their local indigenous language and traditions. Biiniza indicated that many

muxes have opted not to pursue professional careers, even though they are very

capable, because this would require conforming to traditional dress codes and wear-

ing modern, professional male apparel. A point of contention with smaller, rival

muxe organizations that espouse a departure from traditional Zapotec attire at velas

is also resisted by the Intrépidas, as they are equally resistant and unwilling to dress

in modern, professional female apparel.

Muxes also see Juchitán as a Queer Paradise where muxes are widely accepted

(Hernandez, 2003). Some muxes argue that Juchitán is a more progressive place,

sexually speaking, than Mexico City or other cities and maintain that they feel fully

integrated into the life of Juchitán and not rejected by the local society, while gays

and lesbians in Mexico City and other parts of Mexico are often harassed and always

have to constantly fight for their rights.

The gay men I interviewed were even more emphatic and quick to differentiate

themselves from muxes. Mario, an articulate twenty-four-year-old gay man, for

example, said that

For me a muxe is a man who identifies as a woman and likes to dress like a woman. I

am not muxe. I am gay because I have never wanted to dress like a woman or to be one.

They work in female trades. I know I am a man.

Diversity in the Muxe Experience

The experience at the vela and my interaction with Mandis, Roque, Ángel, and oth-

ers made me realize that all muxes were not the same and that there was a broad

range and variety in the muxe experience, from those who dressed in elaborate and

traditional feminine Zapotec costumes, or vestidas, to pintadas who on the surface

looked like ordinary men, except that they wore gold necklaces, jewelry, or light

makeup.

398 Men and Masculinities 19(4)

Vestidas

Since the prototypical muxe is a vestida, the section below presents two successful,

popular, and visible Intrépidas, Felina and Biiniza who openly dress as women and

assume a feminine name and identity.

Felina, the hairstylist. Felina was born and raised in Juchitán, although she left for five

years to study to be a hairstylist in Mexico City. She attended school through Pre-

paratoria, comes from a family of four brothers and three sisters, and was in the mid-

dle of the birth order. Her father was a campesino or farmworker and her mother, a

housewife. Although women in El Istmo tend to control the money in the family, her

parents each had power and authority in their respective domains.

Felina could not remember when she first realized that she was muxe, but it was

very early on. ‘‘Fathers always resist’’ [accepting muxes], but her father eventually

accepted her the way she was. Boys in school made fun of muxes, but she didn’t have

a lot of problems. Surprisingly, there were six muxes in her grade, three in one class-

room and three in another, and she hung around with other muxes as well as with

girls. Her mother is deceased and she has a good relationship with her father and

lives with him. When asked about the acceptance of muxes she suggested that ‘‘It

comes from women because they control the money in the household.’’ Conse-

quently, when they have a muxe son they see him as ‘‘one more pair of hands’’

because ‘‘muxes are very good workers.’’

Felina’s first sexual relationship was when she was thirteen or fourteen and she

has been involved in a number of long-term relationships, one lasting eight years.

Many of the men muxes have relations with also have novias (girlfriends), but it

doesn’t bother her because she is not jealous of them. Muxes do not typically live

with their men. They would agree on a place to meet or to go out. As to where they

would have sex, it varies. It might be in a motel or someone’s house that was avail-

able. Like most muxes, she always assumes the pasivo role in sex.

Felina linked the popularity and acceptance of muxes to the importance of virgi-

nity in Juchitán, which means that men do not generally have a sexual outlet. Things

are changing, but muxes continue to play an important role in providing a sexual out-

let for young men. Men simply see sex with muxes as a way to satisfy their sexual

needs and nothing more. Los hombres do not see themselves as gay because they

separate the sex act from their sexual orientation and because they assume the active

role in sex. Many men are therefore able to have sex with muxes and also be in rela-

tionships with women, but they generally do not want people to find out about it. At

the time of the interview, Felina worked as an AIDS Information Advisor. Her formal

title was Director of Sexual Diversity for the Municipio of Juchitán, which is part of

her political involvement as an Intrépida, but she makes her living as a hairstylist.

Felina pointed out that the Intrépida organization10 has a good relationship with

the Church and a number of political entities. That’s because the Intrépidas have to

demonstrate to the community that they are responsible citizens and involved in

Mirandé 399

civic affairs. Members get invited by schools and other agencies to make presenta-

tions on Safe Sex and AIDS Prevention. The group has been supported financially by

the PRI (Partido Revolucionario Institucional) (The Institutional Revolutionary

Party), the dominant political party. The Church accepts them because they partic-

ipate in the Church relative to the celebration of various Saints Days, cuaresma

(Lent), and other activities.

Despite the general acceptance of muxes, she said there are always exceptions.

There are muxes who are drunks, who are obnoxious, who are aggressive and even

violent, and they get a corresponding response. As far as sex workers are concerned,

that is not something that is generally appealing to people from El Istmo. People who

do this kind of work in Juchitán are from other areas.11 According to Felina, the pri-

mary challenge currently facing the muxes is recruiting more young members who

will be able to maintain the strong values and traditions of the Zapotec community.

Biiniza, the impetuous breeze. Dressed in traditional Juchiteca attire when I met her for

dinner, Biiniza explained that her name reflected what she’s like. In Zapoteco it

means ‘‘viento y agua’’ (wind and water) or like an impetuous breeze or mist. She

is one of the muxes who most dresses and acts like a woman 24/7 and is almost

always dressed in traditional Zapotec attire.

Biiniza was born in Niltepec, a town within the municipal district of Juchitán, and

therefore feels that she was raised between the two communities. Her father was an

engineer from the north and her mother a teacher and politician who became the

municipal president of her community. The parents divorced and her father moved

back to the north, so he wasn’t around for much of her childhood and adolescence.

She gets along well with him and her mother is now deceased.

Biiniza grew up with her grandmother and great-grandmother. They would play

games, listen to music, dress up, and dance. She felt that grandmothers always have a

sixth sense. They would bathe her, play with her, and were around her so much that

they sensed that she had an inclination toward the feminine. Interestingly, her great-

grandmother was most open to her sexual orientation and much more accepting of it

than her mother. She also suggested that in an all-male family, they may have

wanted a girl and this may have affected her upbringing. Biiniza has identified as

a girl for as long as she can remember.

Her first year in school or Kinder was very traumatic because it shattered the

world constructed by her grandmother and great-grandmother. For the first time, she

began to experience contact with boys who were somewhat homophobic. She also

discovered a boy to whom she was attracted and thought was gorgeous. Biiniza still

knows his family and tells his mother that her son has always been ‘‘beautiful.’’

At about age thirteen she fell in love for the first time at the Preparatoria with a

boy who was fifteen. For her, this boy was lo máximo (the greatest) and their court-

ship ‘‘Era muy bonito’’ (was lovely); she really fell in love. At that time, there was a

lot of talk about AIDS, so she went to the pharmacy to purchase a condom. Her aunt

worked there and asked why she needed one and she told her that they were talking

400 Men and Masculinities 19(4)

about them at school and wanted a sample. At that time, girls also talked about boys

and maintaining their virginity but ‘‘she’’ had sex for the first time with this boy. The

relationship lasted eight months and she described it a ‘‘horrible pregnancy.’’ Predic-

tably, the boy had a girlfriend and he ended up being with her.

Biiniza has not been involved in a long-term relationship since then. Her first sex-

ual encounter was beautiful, but an important lesson she learned is never to let any-

one take advantage of her or exploit her. I asked where muxes have sex and she said

that is in places just like other people. ‘‘You have sex in hotels, someone’s apart-

ment, or wherever you can.’’ She and her first sexual partner got together in a house

that was under construction; only they had access to it. I asked whether they kissed

and did other things and she said, ‘‘Oh, yes, just like anyone else.’’

Biiniza went to Oaxaca City to study. She took courses and studied for a short

career in turismo, which was popular at the time. She also trained as a health expert

and now works in the MESXXFA, a hospital outside of Juchitán, and also owns a

consulting agency that provides services to various governmental agencies.

One of the issues that has arisen for Las Intrépidas, according to Biiniza, and the

reason some muxes have broken away from the organization and formed splinter

groups is that they want to be more modern and dress in contemporary attire. These

muxes dressed in modern attire at the vela and more traditionally at the Lavada. The

Intrépidas want to protect Zapotec traditions. Although things are changing, a num-

ber of professions require that you dress in traditional gendered clothing, so you can-

not dress like a Teca. She mentioned a college professor, an anthropologist in

another state, and a politician who now openly cross-dress. One of the more promi-

nent Intrépida Vestidas is Amaranta Gómez, an HIV/AIDS activist who lost an arm

in a bus crash and ran unsuccessfully for the Mexican Congress, as the first transgen-

der Mexican to run for public office (Associated Press, July 4, 2003; Hernández

2003).

Pintadas

Enrique: A conflicted, bisexual politician. One of the reasons that some muxes do not

dress as women is because they are employed in traditional public occupations. Enri-

que, a twenty-four-year-old self-described muxe and elected public official in a

nearby municipality, does not dress in regional female Zapotec attire. He is a

heavy-set person of average height but built like an American football player. At the

Intrépida Vela, he was wearing black pants and a white guayabera and the only dis-

tinguishing muxe trait, other than the light makeup, was that he wore a large gold

medallion necklace, gold rings, and a gold bracelet.

He has short hair, does his eyes, but if you didn’t look very carefully and did not

notice the makeup, he would be indistinguishable from other men. Enrique said that

life was difficult and his eyes got glassy as he told his story. He is not like most

muxes because he is bisexual and has known that he was bisexual since he was about

ten years old. At an early age, he knew that he had a thing for boys through

Mirandé 401

elementary school and high school and liked to play and dress up with his sisters.

Although attracted to boys, Enrique was also attracted to girls. Enrique said that his

mother knows about his sexuality and that his very traditional working-class father

suspects, but doesn’t ask because he is afraid to find out and really does not want to

know. Enrique lives at home and his family is aware that he takes time in the bath-

room fixing himself up and don’t say anything. He admitted that dressing up as a

woman was una fantası́a (a fantasy) but he can’t do it because of his work. Elections

were coming up shortly and he had to be very careful about his appearance because

any kind of negative publicity would be used against him politically. Enrique paused

briefly and speculated on what might happen if a picture of him dressed like a

woman was made public and concluded it would be political suicide.

The day after one of the velas, Enrique invited me to a local Fair in his hometown

outside of Juchitán. It was a traditional Mexican fiesta with charros (cowboys), a

rodeo, games, rides, and a lot of food and drinking. As we walked across the town

square and entered the fairgrounds, I was impressed with the number of people who

knew him. We were warmly greeted and he introduced me to various people. Town

residents clearly recognized and respected him.

Enrique told me he was previously married and has a two-year-old son but is now

divorced. He was candid with his ex-wife about his bisexuality but the marriage

didn’t work out. He seemed very sad, on the verge of tears, and kept saying how dif-

ficult life was for someone who is bisexual. ‘‘Es muy, muy difı́cil’’ (‘‘It’s very, very

difficult’’).

Felix(a): A dedicated teacher. Felixa is a forty-something muxe who teaches third grade

at a nearby town, also dresses in regular male attire, and is alternately called Felix or

Felixa, depending on the setting and circumstance. Felixa was clean-cut and impec-

cably dressed with a light green guayabera, dark green slacks, spiked, moussed hair,

and looked neat and well groomed. Felixa has been involved with Las Intrépidas for

about twenty years but is not currently a member. Like Enrique, because of his pro-

fession, he cannot dress like a muxe. Despite Felixa’s dress, his students know that

he is muxe and they accept and respect him.

Felixa has been aware of being attracted to boys since the age of ten. He liked to

play with his sisters, was always attracted to boys, and believes he was born that

way. Felixa has always been accepted by his family and, like many muxes, lived

with his parents until they died, and continues to live in the same house where he

grew up. Felixa’s first sexual experience was at the age of seventeen with a neighbor

boy who was straight; a relationship initiated by the boy. He had novios (boyfriends)

in high school and in college but they were always hombres.

Felixa likes being in a stable relationship and was in one until about a year ago.

They were together for about five years. I asked whether one person or another was

dominant and Felixa said ‘‘no’’ but commented that some muxes have problems

because they want to control their men but he lets his partner go out with women.

This is consistent with the flexibility of sex roles in Juchitán and suggests that even

402 Men and Masculinities 19(4)

though muxes are involved in sexual liaisons with hombres, most do not insist on

being in monogamous relationships and allow their partners to go out with women,

but not with other muxes.

Like Enrique, Felixa doesn’t dress like a muxe because he is a teacher and at the

vela he told me that he didn’t like seeing muxes dressed in provocative or outlandish

ways. One muxe, for example, was wearing a white mesh, see-through dress with a

black thong underneath. Another wore a Brazilian carnival-style outfit with wings

and short-shorts. A couple of other muxes also wore very short skirts and came

by Mı́stica’s puesto where I was sitting with Felixa. He repeated that he didn’t like

their attire because the way they dressed was outlandish and vulgar.

Óscar: El Padrino Muxe (The Muxe Godfather). I went to interview Óscar, one of the

founders of Las Intrépidas, at his home, a large house not far from downtown Juchi-

tán. He had a number of guests staying at the house during the vela including an

older guest, a woman who was called tı́a (aunt). I had a chance to speak with her

briefly and she told me she was indeed Óscar’s aunt. When I asked what she thought

of the muxe lifestyle, she said, ‘‘Es que es natural. Ası́ nacieron’’ (‘‘It’s natural.

That’s how they were born’’). She seemed just like any other aunt and was totally

accepting of Óscar, his friends, and their lifestyle.

Óscar was clearly a very busy and important man and we were interrupted several

times during the interview. Óscar is a short, stout man around sixty with curly gray-

ing hair and small eyes. He was wearing a very large gold necklace with a ruby stone

and lots of gold rings and bracelets. He looked comfortable, was barefoot, wore

shorts, and acted like a powerful Don in a way reminiscent of Don Vito Corleone

in ‘‘The Godfather.’’ We sat and chatted in a reception area at the entrance to his

house where a large portrait of his mother was hung.

Óscar sat in a glossy wooden armchair, is very gregarious and charismatic, and

has an eye for business. His family has always been in commerce and he started

early on as an entrepreneur and was quickly outselling others at the Mercado.

He is a successful businessman who owns a hotel which caters to muxes, invited

me to stay at his hotel, and also has several stores where he sells clothing. He used

to sell gold jewelry, but it is too expensive now and he was robbed a couple of

times. Now he only sells la fantası́a, which is fake or gold plated jewelry rather

than real gold.

Óscar grew up in Juchitán. Like all of my respondents, he has known he was

muxe for as long as he can remember and doesn’t believe that you can make a person

muxe through abuse or anything like that. He believes that ‘‘muxes are born, not

made,’’ ‘‘nacen, no se hacen.’’ He has two sisters. His mother was accepting of his

sexual orientation, but his father was disappointed since Óscar was the only male in

the family. Óscar’s first sexual experience was in Mexico City when he met a man

on the Metro (subway) who took him home and had sex with him. He lived with the

man for about three years.

Mirandé 403

Óscar is not shy about taking credit for establishing Las Intrépidas in Comitan-

cillo. The muxes from this small town were the original Auténticas Intrépidas Bus-

cadoras del Peligro, not those from Juchitán. There was a group of about six in the

1970s who were first known as Las Panteras Negras or Black Panthers. The others,

including Óscar, started meeting with them in Comitancillo and they eventually

came to Juchitán.

Conclusion

While this preliminary study of muxes in Juchitán can be used to illustrate and

expand on West and Zimmerman’s doing gender paradigm, in interpreting the find-

ings, it is important to resist the temptation to see the muxes simply as another man-

ifestation of a global quest for a gay/transgender identity and in the process impose

a Western sexual interpretation on what are clearly a series of social rather than sex-

ual constructs (Quiroga 2000, 191).12 I argue, in other words, that being muxe is

more of a social and gender category than a sexual classification, and one firmly

anchored in indigenous Zapotec conceptions of gender and sexuality.

The idea that some men who dress and act like muxes are seen as imposters or

inauthentic, while others are authentic is consistent with the view that one is born

muxe and that muxes constitute a distinct sex/gender category. Although not all

muxes cross-dress, neither do they go stealth since being muxe is seen as a 24/7 pro-

position that cuts across all aspects of one’s life and can take various forms. In addi-

tion to dressing in female Juchiteca attire, it may entail wearing gold jewelry, gold

rings, makeup, wearing one’s hair in a ponytail, or like Felixa and Oscar, simply wear-

ing a bright, flowered guayabera. Ultimately, being muxe transcends external super-

ficial trappings like dress or appearance. Muxes are neither men nor women but a third

gender. Muxes identity with lo femenino (the feminine) and, like Mexican locas, their

sexual partners are hombres rather than other muxes, but they identify as a third gen-

der rather than as hombres or mujeres, and distinguish themselves from gays.

The fact that muxes have sex with hombres, rather than with one another, is also

consistent with Puig’s contention that the purveyor of a patriarchal ideology is not a

woman but a hegemonic conception of femininity itself, produced not by woman as

subject but by the Spanish neuter of lo femenino. The conceptualization of the superior

macho, according to Puig, is the product of the ‘‘homosocial,’’ a relation or liaison

between men, rather than between men and women (Sifuentes-Jáuregui 2002, 159).

The findings suggest that being muxe is clearly more of a social than a sexual

practice and that the muxe experience cries out for a more global or transnational

explanation of sexuality and gender. Just as the emergence of Two-Spirit Identity

represented a critique of anthropology and of Western conceptions of gender and

sexuality, so is it imperative to recognize muxes as a self-identified third sex/gender

category, which is less about sexual identity and more about retaining the language,

cultural categories, practices, and worldviews of indigenous communities.

404 Men and Masculinities 19(4)

The brief presentation of several case studies illustrates the range and variety of the

muxe experience from vestidas like Felina and Biiniza to pintadas like Enrique and

Felix(a) who, except for wearing gold necklaces, rings, or light makeup are generally

indistinguishable from other men, to those who may appear on the surface like ordi-

nary men except for wearing brightly colored guayaberas. While muxes generally seek

to maintain Zapotec dress, traditions, and language, and most are quick to distinguish

themselves from gay men, the world of the muxes has been impacted by an emerging

gay culture in El Istmo de Tehuantepec and other parts of Mexico. A number of Intré-

pidas have left Juchitán for periods of time to study and live in Mexico City, Oaxaca

City, and other metropolitan areas, which brought them into contact with larger soci-

etal influences and the emergent mestizo gay lifestyle. A point of contention between

Intrépidas and rival splinter groups has also been whether to retain the traditional

female Zapotec attire or adopt a more modern form of dress at the velas.

Some of the more nuanced recent literature on Mexican sexuality has also challenged

the traditional pasivo/activo paradigm as the only point of reference for interpreting

male same-sex desires within Mexico and suggested a hybrid model which is able to

reconcile seemingly contradictory sexual and gender conceptions of homosexuality

(Carrillo 2002; Laguarda 2010; Nuñez Noriega 2014; Parrini 2007; Quiroga 2000;

Sifuentes-Jáuregui 2002). In a recent ethnographic study, Guillermo Nuñez Noriega

(2014), for example, demonstrates how masculinities in the Sonoran mountain region

are constructed in such a way that men are able to maintain adherence to traditional patri-

archal masculinity while simultaneously enjoying male-to-male intimacy and affection.

Others, like Carrillo, have pointed to the existence of a hybrid sexuality, which is able to

reconcile the emergent Western object choice and the traditional gender-based Mexican

pasivo/activo gender conception of sexuality, which maintains that to be homosexual

one must assume the pasivo role of the woman in anal sexual intercourse.

The findings of this study suggest that muxes are able to maintain a sexual/gender

hybridity that enables them to adopt seemingly contradictory perceptions of sexuality

that extend beyond the sex/gender hybridity identified by Carrillo for Mexican gay men.

Muxes are an indigenous third sex and gender category analogous to the Native Amer-

ican Man/Woman, the hijras of India,13 as well as several Oceanic indigenous groups.

While much can be learned about doing and redoing gender from the muxe expe-

rience, we must actively resist the temptation to colonize them by imposing the gen-

der binary and Western conceptions of gender and sexuality on an indigenous group.

But we must at the same time, as Mitchell Rolls (2000) notes, be equally careful not

to romanticize precolonial indigenous cultures and imprison such communities in a

false past that robs them of contemporary agency.

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research,

authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Mirandé 405

Funding

The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research,

authorship, and/or publication of this article: The research for this essay was par-

tially supported by UC/Mexus Small Grant, and University of California, Riverside

Academic Senate Research and Travel and Omnibus Research Grants.

Notes

1. Raewyn Connell maintains that Agnes’ problem was not so much living up to standards

of femininity as it was maintaining her categorization as female. Drawing on West and

Zimmerman, she calls for the reconceptualization of men and women as ‘‘distinct social

groups,’’ who are ‘‘historically constituted in specific (and changing) social relation-

ships’’ (R. Connell 2009, 108).

2. Researchers have examined the lives and experiences of transgender persons in a variety

of contexts, but space limitations preclude an extensive discussion of this literature. See,

for example, Beemyn and Rankin (2011); Irwin (2002); Meadow (2010); Stryker (2008);

and Valentine (2007).

3. Mark, for example, a sixty-four-year-old transman had been living and working as a man

for twenty-five years and was able to work stealth by changing his name and pertinent

background information and assimilating appropriate masculinity.

4. Kristen Schilt examined the reproduction of gender inequality in the workplace through

in-depth interviews with female-to-male transsexuals who were actively involved in

undoing and redoing gender when they openly enter the workplace as women and then

have to make the transition to becoming men (K. Schilt 2006).

5. Dana Rosenfeld similarly found that heteronormativity and homonormativity shaped the

identities of lesbian and gay elders who adopted an assimilationist politics, which encour-

aged them to assume a heterosexual veneer which justified ‘‘passing’’ in order to survive

in a heteronormative world (Rosenfeld 2009, 617).

6. Full discussion of the so-called Isthmus matriarchy is beyond the scope of this essay. (see,

Chiñas 2002; Bennholdt-Thomsen, 1997).

7. While the term ‘‘transvestite’’ is offensive to some, people in Juchitán and the muxes

readily use it.

8. I should mention that Mandis died recently and that he was honored at the last vela I

attended.

9. I subsequently learned that the criterion for the selection of the Queen was not beauty or popu-

larity but whether the person could raise the money to pay for the headlining band at the vela.

10. There are approximately thirty-six active member of the Intrépidas who have a puesto

(booth) at the vela and serve on the Mesa Directiva (Board of Directors).

11. I found it interesting that although Mayté had worked as a sex worker in Mexico City, she

was not employed as a sex worker in Juchitán. This supported Felina’s view of sex work-

ers as being outsiders.

406 Men and Masculinities 19(4)

12. The Chair of the Zambian Lesbian, Gay, and Transgendered Persons Association, for

example, denied the existence of Western influences within his group, noting that they were

not White, but ‘‘indigenous Zambians,’’ fighting for their rights (Quiroga 2000. 192).

13. In an excellent ethnographic study, Reddy (2005, 2) generally rejects the view of hijras as

the quintessential third sex and suggests that this view ‘‘ultimately might be a disservice

to the complexity of their lives and their embeddedness within the social fabric of India’’

(Reddy 2005, 4).

References

Almaguer, Tomás. 2001. ‘‘Chicano Men: A Cartography of Homosexual Behavior.’’ In Men’s

Lives, 5th ed., edited by Michael S. Kimmel and Michael A. Messner, 415–28. Boston,

MA: Allyn and Bacon.

Bartolo Marcial, Elı́ Valentı́n. 2010. Las otras hijas de San Vicente. Oaxaca, Mexico: Carteles

Editores-Gráfica de Oaxaca.

Beemyn, Genny, and Susan Rankin. 2011. The Lives of Transgender People. New York:

Columbia University Press.

Bennholdt-Thomsen, Veronika (Coordinadora). 1997. Juchitán, la ciudad de las mujeres.

Oaxaca, Mexico: Instituto Oaxaqueño de Las Culturas.

Butler, Judith. 1990. Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity. New York:

Routledge.

Butler, Judith. 2004. Undoing Gender. New York: Routledge.

Callender, C., and L. M. Kochems. 1986. ‘‘Men and Not-men: Male Gender-mixing Statuses

and Homosexuality.’’ In The Many Faces of Homosexuality: Anthropological Approaches

to Homosexual Behavior, edited by E. Blackwood, 165–78. New York: Harrington Press.

Campbell, Howard, Leigh Binford, Miguel Bartolomé, and Alicia Barabas. 1993. Zapotec

Struggles: Histories, Politics, and Representations from Juchitán, Oaxaca (Poetry trans-

lated by Nathaniel Tarn). Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press.

Carrier, Joseph M. 1976. ‘‘Cultural Factors Affecting Urban Mexican Male Homosexual

Behavior.’’ The Archives of Sexual Behavior: An Interdisciplinary Research Journal 5:

103–24.

Carrillo, Héctor. 2002. The Night Is Young: Sexuality in Mexico in the Time of Aids. Chicago:

University of Chicago Press.

Chiñas, Beverly Newbold. 2002. The Isthmus Zapotecs: A Matrifocal Culture of Mexico.

Mason, OH: CENGAGE Learning.

Connell, Catherine. 2010. ‘‘Doing, Undoing, or Redoing Gender: Learning Form the Work-

place Experiences of Transpeople.’’ Gender & Society 24:31–55.

Connell, Raewyn. 2009. ‘‘Accountable Conduct: ‘Doing Gender’ in Transsexual and Political

Retrospect.’’ Gender & Society 23:104–11.

Cornelius, Wayne. 1982. ‘‘Interviewing Undocumented Immigrants: Methodological Reflec-

tions Based on Fieldwork in Mexico and the U.S.’’ International Migration Review 16:

378–411.

Deutsch, Frances. 2007. ‘‘Undoing Gender.’’ Gender & Society 21:106–27.

Mirandé 407

Driskill, Qwo-Li, Chris Finley, Brian Joseph Gilley, and Scott Lauria Morgensen, eds. 2011a.

Queer Indigenous Studies: Critical Interventions in Theory, Politics, and Literature.

Tucson: The University of Arizona Press.

Driskill, Qwo-Li, Daniel Heath Justice, Deborah Miranda, and Lisa Tatonetti. 2011b.

Sovereign Erotics: A Collection of Two-spirit Literature. Tucson: University of Arizona

Press.

Gagné, Patricia, R. Tewksbury, and Deanna McGaughey. 1997. ‘‘Coming out and Crossing

over: Identity Formation and Proclamation in a Transgender Community.’’ Gender &

Society 11:478–508.

Garfinkel, Harold. 1967. Studies in Ethnomethodology. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Halapua, Winston. 2006. ‘‘Moana Waves: Oceania and Homosexuality.’’ In Other Voices, Other

Worlds: The Global Church Speaks out on Homosexuality, edited by Terry Brown, 26–39.

Hernández, Patricio. 2003. Juchitan, Queer Paradise. New York: Filmakers Library.

Irwin, Jude. 2002. ‘‘Discrimination against Gay Men, Lesbians, and Transgender People

Working in Education.’’ Journal of Gay & Lesbian Social Services 14:65–77.

Jurik, N. C., and C. Simen. 2009. ‘‘‘Doing Gender’ as Canon or Agenda: A Symposium on

West and Zimmerman.’’ Gender & Society 23:72–75.

Lacey, Marc. 2008. ‘‘A Lifestyle Distinct: The Muxe of Mexico.’’ The New York Times,

Accessed December 6, 2008. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/07/weekinreview/

07lacey.html?_r¼0.

Laguarda, Rodrigo. 2010. Ser gay en la ciudad de Mexico: Lucha de representaciones y apro-

pración de una identidad, 1968-1982. Mexico City, Mexico: Centro de Investigaciones y

Estudios Superiores en Antropologı́a Social.

Lancaster, R. N. 1987. ‘‘Subject Honor and Object Shame: The Construction of Male Homo-

sexuality and Stigma in Nicaragua.’’ Ethnology 27:111–25.

Lang, Sabine. 1998. Men as Women, Women as Men: Changing Gender in Native American

Cultures. Austin: University of Texas Press.

Lorber, Judith. 2005. Breaking the Bowls: Degendering and Feminist Change. New York:

W. W. Norton.

Lorber, Judith. 2006. ‘‘A World without Gender.’’ In Handbook of Gender and Women’s

Studies, edited by K. Davis, M. Evan, and J. Lorber, 470–75. London, UK: Sage.

Martin, Patricia Yancey. 2003. ‘‘‘Said and Done’ Versus ‘Saying and Doing’: Gendering

Practices, Practicing Gender at Work.’’ Gender & Society 17:342–66.

Meadow, Tey. 2010. ‘‘‘A Rose Is a Rose’: On Producing Legal Gender Classifications.’’

Gender & Society 24:814–37.

Menjı́var, Cecilia. 2000. Fragmented Ties: Salvadoran Immigrant Networks in America.

Berkeley: University of California Press.

Miano Borruso, Marinella. 2002. Hombre, mujer, y muxé en el Istmo de Tehuantepec. México:

Plaza y Valdés.

Morgensen, Scott Lauria. 2011. ‘‘Unsettling Queer Politics.’’ In Queer Indigenous Studies:

Critical Interventions in Theory, Politics, and Literature, edited by Driskill Qwo-Li, Chris

Finley, Brian Joseph Gilley, and Scott Lauria Morgensen, 132–52. Tucson: The University

of Arizona Press.

408 Men and Masculinities 19(4)

Nuñez Noriega, Guillermo. 2014. Just between us: An Ethnography of Male Identity and Inti-

macy in Rural Communities in Northern Mexico. Tucson: University of Arizona Press.

Parker, R. 1986. ‘‘Masculinity, Femininity, and Homosexuality: On the Anthropological

Interpretation of Sexual Meanings in Brazil.’’ In The Many Faces of Homosexuality:

Anthropological Approaches to Homosexual Behavior, edited by E. Blackwood,

155–63. New York: Harrington Park Press.

Parrini, Rodrigo. 2007. Panópticos laberintos: Subjectivación, deseo, y corporalidad en una

cárcel de hombres. Mexico City, Mexico: El Colegio de México.

Prieur, Annick. 1998. Mema’s House, Mexico City. On Transvetites, Queens, and Machos.

Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Quiroga, José. 2000. Tropics of Desire: Interventions from Queer Latino America. New York:

New York University Press.

Reddy, Gayatri. 2005. With Respect to Sex: Negotiating Hijra Identity in South India.

Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Risman, Barbara. 2009. ‘‘From Doing to Undoing: Gender as We Know it.’’ Gender & Society

23:81–84.

Rolls, Mitchell. 2000. ‘‘Robert Lawlord Tells a ‘White’ Lie.’’ Journal of Australian Studies

66:211–18.

Roscoe, Will. 1991. The Zuni Man-woman. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press.

Rosenfeld, Dana. 2009. ‘‘Heteronormativity and Homonormativity as Practical and Moral

Resources.’’ Gender & Society 23:617–38.

Schilt, Kristen. 2006. ‘‘Making Gender Visible: Transmen as ‘‘Outsiders-within’’ in the

Workplace.’’ Gender & Society 20:465–90.

Sifuentes-Jáuregui, Ben. 2002. Transvestism, Masculinity, and Latin American Literature.

New York: Palgrave.

Stryker, Susan. 2008. Transgender History. Berkeley, CA: Seal Press. Aren, Z. A. (Eds.).

2013. The Transgender Studies Reader 2. New York: Routledge.

Taylor, Clark L. 1986. ‘‘Mexican Male Homosexual Behavior in Public Contexts.’’ In The

Many Faces of Homosexuality: Anthropological Approaches to Homosexual Behavior,

edited by E. Blackwood, 117–36. New York: Harrington Park Press.

Valentine, David. 2007. Imagining Transgender: An Ethnography of a Category. Durham,

NC: Duke University Press.

West, Candace C., and Don H. Zimmerman. 1987. ‘‘Doing Gender.’’ Gender & Society

1:125–51.

West, Candace C., and Don H. Zimmerman. 2009. ‘‘Accounting for Doing Gender.’’ Gender

& Society 23:111–22.

Whitehead, Harriet. 1981. ‘‘The Bow and the Burden Strap: A New Look at Institutionalized

Homosexuality in Native North America.’’ In Sexual meaning; The Cultural Construction

of Gender and Sexuality, edited by S. B. Ortner and H. Whitehead, 89–115. Cambridge,

UK: Cambridge University Press.

Williams, Walter L. 1986. The Spirit and the Flesh: Sexual Diversity in American Indian

Culture. Boston, MA: Beacon Press.

Mirandé 409

<< /ASCII85EncodePages false /AllowTransparency false /AutoPositionEPSFiles true /AutoRotatePages /None /Binding /Left /CalGrayProfile (Gray Gamma 2.2) /CalRGBProfile (sRGB IEC61966-2.1) /CalCMYKProfile (U.S. Web Coated \050SWOP\051 v2) /sRGBProfile (sRGB IEC61966-2.1) /CannotEmbedFontPolicy /Warning /CompatibilityLevel 1.3 /CompressObjects /Off /CompressPages true /ConvertImagesToIndexed true /PassThroughJPEGImages false /CreateJDFFile false /CreateJobTicket false /DefaultRenderingIntent /Default /DetectBlends true /DetectCurves 0.1000 /ColorConversionStrategy /LeaveColorUnchanged /DoThumbnails false /EmbedAllFonts true /EmbedOpenType false /ParseICCProfilesInComments true /EmbedJobOptions true /DSCReportingLevel 0 /EmitDSCWarnings false /EndPage -1 /ImageMemory 1048576 /LockDistillerParams true /MaxSubsetPct 100 /Optimize true /OPM 1 /ParseDSCComments true /ParseDSCCommentsForDocInfo true /PreserveCopyPage true /PreserveDICMYKValues true /PreserveEPSInfo true /PreserveFlatness false /PreserveHalftoneInfo false /PreserveOPIComments false /PreserveOverprintSettings true /StartPage 1 /SubsetFonts true /TransferFunctionInfo /Apply /UCRandBGInfo /Remove /UsePrologue false /ColorSettingsFile () /AlwaysEmbed [ true ] /NeverEmbed [ true ] /AntiAliasColorImages false /CropColorImages false /ColorImageMinResolution 266 /ColorImageMinResolutionPolicy /OK /DownsampleColorImages true /ColorImageDownsampleType /Average /ColorImageResolution 175 /ColorImageDepth -1 /ColorImageMinDownsampleDepth 1 /ColorImageDownsampleThreshold 1.50286 /EncodeColorImages true /ColorImageFilter /DCTEncode /AutoFilterColorImages true /ColorImageAutoFilterStrategy /JPEG /ColorACSImageDict << /QFactor 0.40 /HSamples [1 1 1 1] /VSamples [1 1 1 1] >> /ColorImageDict << /QFactor 0.76 /HSamples [2 1 1 2] /VSamples [2 1 1 2] >> /JPEG2000ColorACSImageDict << /TileWidth 256 /TileHeight 256 /Quality 30 >> /JPEG2000ColorImageDict << /TileWidth 256 /TileHeight 256 /Quality 30 >> /AntiAliasGrayImages false /CropGrayImages false /GrayImageMinResolution 266 /GrayImageMinResolutionPolicy /OK /DownsampleGrayImages true /GrayImageDownsampleType /Average /GrayImageResolution 175 /GrayImageDepth -1 /GrayImageMinDownsampleDepth 2 /GrayImageDownsampleThreshold 1.50286 /EncodeGrayImages true /GrayImageFilter /DCTEncode /AutoFilterGrayImages true /GrayImageAutoFilterStrategy /JPEG /GrayACSImageDict << /QFactor 0.40 /HSamples [1 1 1 1] /VSamples [1 1 1 1] >> /GrayImageDict << /QFactor 0.76 /HSamples [2 1 1 2] /VSamples [2 1 1 2] >> /JPEG2000GrayACSImageDict << /TileWidth 256 /TileHeight 256 /Quality 30 >> /JPEG2000GrayImageDict << /TileWidth 256 /TileHeight 256 /Quality 30 >> /AntiAliasMonoImages false /CropMonoImages false /MonoImageMinResolution 900 /MonoImageMinResolutionPolicy /OK /DownsampleMonoImages true /MonoImageDownsampleType /Average /MonoImageResolution 175 /MonoImageDepth -1 /MonoImageDownsampleThreshold 1.50286 /EncodeMonoImages true /MonoImageFilter /CCITTFaxEncode /MonoImageDict << /K -1 >> /AllowPSXObjects false /CheckCompliance [ /None ] /PDFX1aCheck false /PDFX3Check false /PDFXCompliantPDFOnly false /PDFXNoTrimBoxError true /PDFXTrimBoxToMediaBoxOffset [ 0.00000 0.00000 0.00000 0.00000 ] /PDFXSetBleedBoxToMediaBox false /PDFXBleedBoxToTrimBoxOffset [ 0.00000 0.00000 0.00000 0.00000 ] /PDFXOutputIntentProfile (U.S. Web Coated \050SWOP\051 v2) /PDFXOutputConditionIdentifier (CGATS TR 001) /PDFXOutputCondition () /PDFXRegistryName (http://www.color.org) /PDFXTrapped /Unknown /Description << /ENU <FEFF005500730065002000740068006500730065002000530061006700650020007300740061006e0064006100720064002000730065007400740069006e0067007300200066006f00720020006300720065006100740069006e006700200077006500620020005000440046002000660069006c00650073002e002000540068006500730065002000730065007400740069006e0067007300200063006f006e006600690067007500720065006400200066006f00720020004100630072006f006200610074002000760037002e0030002e00200043007200650061007400650064002000620079002000540072006f00790020004f00740073002000610074002000530061006700650020005500530020006f006e002000310031002f00310030002f0032003000300036002e000d000d003200300030005000500049002f003600300030005000500049002f004a0050004500470020004d0065006400690075006d002f00430043004900540054002000470072006f0075007000200034> >> /Namespace [ (Adobe) (Common) (1.0) ] /OtherNamespaces [ << /AsReaderSpreads false /CropImagesToFrames true /ErrorControl /WarnAndContinue /FlattenerIgnoreSpreadOverrides false /IncludeGuidesGrids false /IncludeNonPrinting false /IncludeSlug false /Namespace [ (Adobe) (InDesign) (4.0) ] /OmitPlacedBitmaps false /OmitPlacedEPS false /OmitPlacedPDF false /SimulateOverprint /Legacy >> << /AllowImageBreaks true /AllowTableBreaks true /ExpandPage false /HonorBaseURL true /HonorRolloverEffect false /IgnoreHTMLPageBreaks false /IncludeHeaderFooter false /MarginOffset [ 0 0 0 0 ] /MetadataAuthor () /MetadataKeywords () /MetadataSubject () /MetadataTitle () /MetricPageSize [ 0 0 ] /MetricUnit /inch /MobileCompatible 0 /Namespace [ (Adobe) (GoLive) (8.0) ] /OpenZoomToHTMLFontSize false /PageOrientation /Portrait /RemoveBackground false /ShrinkContent true /TreatColorsAs /MainMonitorColors /UseEmbeddedProfiles false /UseHTMLTitleAsMetadata true >> << /AddBleedMarks false /AddColorBars false /AddCropMarks false /AddPageInfo false /AddRegMarks false /BleedOffset [ 9 9 9 9 ] /ConvertColors /ConvertToRGB /DestinationProfileName (sRGB IEC61966-2.1) /DestinationProfileSelector /UseName /Downsample16BitImages true /FlattenerPreset << /ClipComplexRegions true /ConvertStrokesToOutlines false /ConvertTextToOutlines false /GradientResolution 300 /LineArtTextResolution 1200 /PresetName ([High Resolution]) /PresetSelector /HighResolution /RasterVectorBalance 1 >> /FormElements true /GenerateStructure false /IncludeBookmarks false /IncludeHyperlinks false /IncludeInteractive false /IncludeLayers false /IncludeProfiles true /MarksOffset 9 /MarksWeight 0.125000 /MultimediaHandling /UseObjectSettings /Namespace [ (Adobe) (CreativeSuite) (2.0) ] /PDFXOutputIntentProfileSelector /DocumentCMYK /PageMarksFile /RomanDefault /PreserveEditing true /UntaggedCMYKHandling /UseDocumentProfile /UntaggedRGBHandling /UseDocumentProfile /UseDocumentBleed false >> ] /SyntheticBoldness 1.000000 >> setdistillerparams << /HWResolution [288 288] /PageSize [612.000 792.000] >> setpagedevice