The word muxe is thought to derive from the Spanish word for "woman", mujer. In contrast to Mexico's majority mestizo culture , the Isthmus of Tehuantepec has a predominantly Zapotec population , one of the country's indigenous peoples. It is widely reported that muxe face less hostility there than homosexual, effeminate males, and trans women do elsewhere in Mexico. One study estimates that 6 percent of males in an Isthmus Zapotec community in the early s were muxe.
Some marry women and have children while others choose men as sexual or romantic partners. Muxe may be vestidas "dressed", i. It has been suggested that while the three-gender system predates Spanish colonization , the phenomenon of muxe dressing as women is fairly recent, beginning in the s and gaining popularity until nearly all of the younger generation of muxe today are vestidas.
Within contemporary Zapotec culture, reports vary as to their social status. Muxe in village communities may not be disparaged and highly respected, while in larger, more Westernised towns they may face some discrimination, especially from men, due to attitudes introduced by Catholicism.
Gender variance and same-sex desire in wealthier communities of the region are more likely to follow a more western taxonomy of gay, bisexual and transgender. Such individuals are also more likely to remain " in the closet ". Despite this, muxe have traditionally been considered good luck, and many now have white-collar jobs or are involved in politics.
They generally do not suffer from gender dysphoria because transphobia is a rare attitude in their culture, people are generally accepting of them and they usually have their gender recognised through their clothing, there is not as much pressure to " pass " as in Western societies. Lynn Stephen writes: "Muxe men are not referred to as "homosexuals" but constitute a separate category based on gender attributes. People perceive them as having the physical bodies of men but different aesthetic, work, and social skills from most men.
