Male Homosexual Roles Among the Isthmus Zapotec of Southern Mexico Essa

Male Homosexual Roles Amog the Isthmus Zapotec of grey MexicoCarlos and Javier are two men living in the city of Juchitn, Mexico. They locomote at a small hotel just off the z-calo, the main township square. Sometimes they converge with other men outside the hotel to watch great deal as they walk past in the z-calo. As nearly anywhere in Mexico, the men comment and nudge each other when an seductive woman passes, but Carlos and Javier remain silent throughout the exchange. It is not until an fetching young man walks by that they speak up. Uy, que guapo Carlos exclaims Ah, how handsome Carlos and Javier are muxe, the female male homosexuals of Isthmus Zapotec culture.Male homosexuality and transvestism is bring out in many if not most Native American societies to at least some degree, notably the DinZh, Lakota, Tohono Oodham, and so on. In pre-Hispanic Mexico, homosexuals were commonality and respected in most area cultures. With the advent of the Spaniards, however, homosex uals and transvestites were pushed that and further to the margins of society, branded as deviants and persecuted under the influence of a rampant machismo. just in a few places did homosexuality survive as a common and respected practice. The Isthmus of Tehuantepec in Oaxaca state at the precise south of Mexico, home to the Zapotec people, is one of these places. I was privileged to expire July and August of 2000 living among the Zapotec in the city of Juchitn. I was intrigued by the position of homosexuals in this culture, and following are some of my efforts to understand them.Muxe is the Zapotec word for effeminate male homosexuals, though the origins of the word remain in debate. Probably the word derives from the Span... ...to peoples like the Zapotec as we try to countersink how to respond. North Americans have much to learn from a society that extends to homosexuals an acknowledge and respected role.1Bennholdt-Thomsen, p. 2802The word mayate is a Mexican Spanish term for a Coleoptera beetles.3Bennholdt-Thomsen, p. 3044 CAAN, p. 405Bennholdt-Thomsen, p. 293-294 ReferencesBennholdt-Thomsen, et al.Juchitn, la ciudad de las mujeres. Oaxaca, Mexico Instituto Oaxaqueo de las Culturas. 1997. Canadian Aboriginal back up Network, Canadian Strategy on HIV/AIDS, and Health Canada. Hands across the World An Indigenous Peoples Forum. Final Report, July 17, 1999 AIDS Impact Conference. Ottawa down in the mouth Moon Consulting. 1999. Chias, Beverly L. The Isthmus Zapotecs Womens Roles in Cultural Context. in the buff York Holt, Rinehart and Winston. 1973.