In Mexico, the acceptance of the LGBT community is quite polarized. But in the southern state of Oaxaca they have made room in their culture for the “muxes” (pronounced MOO-shays), or the men who feel they are women. They believe that the muxes are special and carry intellectual and artistic gifts.
Every November, muxes inundate the town for a grand ball that attracts local men, women and children as well as outsiders. A queen is selected; the mayor crowns her. “I don’t care what people say,” said Sebastian Sarmienta, the boyfriend of a muxe, Ninel Castillejo García. “There are some people who get uncomfortable. I don’t see a problem. What is so bad about it?”
To read more click HERE and to see a slide show of the coming out festival, click HERE.
Just don’t be fooled into thinking that Mexican culture as a whole is tolerant of gays, much less that the ultra-conservative federal government even talks about the subject.
speaking as a gay native american male, i am quite familiar with the whole “2 spirit” cultural icon that is a prevalent archetype for many native cultures.
what’s frustrating to me, as a gay native american male, is that there’s very little room in the culture for anything but the 2 spirit paradigm (or muxe as referenced here). if you’re a plain old gay guy, it’s very difficult to find acceptance within native culture. they only understand the orientation if it’s got a “half woman” identity attached to it.