Male, Female, Muxe, or Both?”

Question 1

Gender in Juchitán

Answer 1

• Zapotec is a language family, disappearing indigenous language (Isthmus Zapotec Language)
   Typologically very different from Spanish
   No gender of number markings
   No syllable-final consonants
• Spanish is hierarchical, Zapotec more egalitarian  Zapotec based on the idea of complementarianism
• Women work in the markets in Juchitán
  → Women are often victims of DV, rarely political leaders, must prove they are virgins at marriage
• Muxes are (cis) men but gender between men and women
   They are not unambiguously seen as men like any other
   Unique roles
   Many men would lose their virginity with Muxes

Question 2

The term “third” has been criticized (Zimman & Hall 2010)

Answer 2

• Why must “male” and “female” be the first two genders?
• Not all “third” categories are non-male and non-female
• The term hides the gender diversity of contexts with a “third” category
• The term hides the marginalization of these genders
• Marginalization –> the muxes aren’t as free to express themselves as text makes it seem, they too face discrimination based on their gender

Question 3

3 types of muxes

Answer 3

• Muxe Gunaa (Feminine Muxes)
• Muxe Nguiu (Masculine Muxes)
• Other Muxes (In the middle)

Question 4

My Results

Answer 4

• Muxe gunaa seem to behave differently from other muxes linguistically
• Grammatical gender seems to be used to indicate femininity AND closeness
• Muxe gunaa show a strong identification with other muxes with feminine gender markers
   That is not reciprocal
• Reflected in ethnography: Muxe gunaa identify more with women and muxes than other muxes
• A muxe community may exist for muxe gunaa
   But less so for other muxes
• Subgroups of muxes may form community with each other, rather than a larger muxe community per se

Question 5

Overall Answer to the Question

Answer 5

• To what extent do muxes act like men, women, or another category in Juchitán?
• Based on linguistic evidence, muxes sometimes appear to follow a gender binary and sometimes not.
   For [s], two gender categories form based on linguistic behavior
   For grammatical gender assignment, three gendered categories are relevant
   The category “muxe” does not behave as a separate “third” category
  o Casts doubt on the extent to which muxes form a separate community with one another