Behind the Mask Gender Hybridity in a Zapotec Community

284 Pages·2017·2.067 MB·English

by  Alfredo Mirandé

Behind the Mask

alfredo Mirandé
Behind
the Mask
Gender Hybridity in a Zapotec Community
TUCSON
The University of Arizona Press
www.uapress.arizona.edu
© 2017 by The Arizona Board of Regents
All rights reserved. Published 2017
Printed in the United States of America
22 21 20 19 18 17 6 5 4 3 2 1
ISBN-13: 978-0-8165-3544-6 (cloth)
Cover design by Leigh McDonald
Cover photograph courtesy of Naomy Méndez Romero and photographer Andrea Cinta Robles
Publication of this book is made possible in part by the proceeds of a permanent endowment created
with the assistance of a Challenge Grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, a federal
agency.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Mirandé, Alfredo, author.
Title: Behind the mask : gender hybridity in a Zapotec community / Alfredo Mirandé.
Description: Tucson : The University of Arizona Press, 2017. | Includes bibliographical references
and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016039134 | ISBN 9780816535446 (cloth : alk. paper)
Subjects: LCSH: Zapotec Indians—Mexico—Juchitán de Zaragoza. | Two-spirit people—
Mexico—Juchitán de Zaragoza. | Gender identity. | Sex role.
Classification: LCC F1221.Z3 M57 2017 | DDC 972/.74—dc23 LC record available at
https://lccn.loc.gov/2016039134
This paper meets the requirements of ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992 (Permanence of Paper).
Para Pilar, la Oaxaqueña
x

Contents
List of Illustrations ix
Preface xi
introduction 3
1. las intrépidas and the Great Muxe Vela 28
2. sex, sexuality, and Power 48
3. doing Gender in Juchitán 61
4. a Blessing from God?: Muxe narratives 105
5. Community acceptance 130
6. two-spirit Muxe Zapotec identity 163
7. Behind the Mask: Unraveling sex and Gender 176
Conclusion: lessons from the field 200
Appendix A. Muxe Respondents 219
Appendix B. Muxe Occupations 225
Appendix C. Gay, Lesbiana, and Mayate Respondents 227
Appendix D. Community Respondents 229
Notes 233
References 245
Index 259

illUstrations
1. Intrépida Mass 41
2. Muxes in traditional male attire 71
3. Vestidas tradicionales 72
4. Vestidas modernas 73
5. Regada de Frutas 79
6. Intrépidas with banner at Regada de Frutas 80
7. Hybridity model 197