Muxes In Mexico, A Third Gender Embraced By The Zapotec People (VIDEO)

The Huffington Post  |  By Carolina Moreno Posted: 10/09/2012 11:28 am EDT

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/09/third-gender-muxes_n_1949638.html

In Oaxaca, one of the southernmost states of Mexico, the indigenous Zapotec people have embraced a third gender within their communities: the muxes.

Said to be derived from the Spanish word for women, mujer, the Zapotec word 'muxe' is used to describe the young boys and men who choose to identify as women or are unable to identify concretely with either gender.

As Estrella (born Mario) and her mother shows viewers in the video above, posted by the international news company GlobalPost, muxes are generally socially accepted by their families and neighbors.

"On the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, especially in Juchitán, every family considers it a blessing to have one gay son," Susana Trilling, who manages a cooking school hours from Juchitán, told Travel + Leisure magazine. "These sons do handicrafts and sell embroideries in the market with the women, while the men work in the fields, so it's a monetary boon to the family. And while daughters marry and leave home, a muxe cares for his parents in their old age."