Method:

The present article emphasizes in the group of people that call themselves muxe’ and in the Zapotec people of the region with which this group interacts on a daily basis in the labor, ludic, community and family environments. The methodology employed here is the critical case study with a qualitative perspective. The analysis axes in the present study were the economic changes in the region and the construction of masculinity in the community of Juchitán.

Results:

It was found that a muxe’ is a man who voluntarily decides to adopt a gender role different from the biologic sex he was born with. The results show the importance of the ethnia and language command and a shared cosmovision among the men who recognize themselves as both Zapotec and muxe’, as well as the importance of traditional ritual practices, resource distribution mechanisms and networks to this group.

Discussion:

The hegemonic expression of masculinity in the national environment merges with sex-gender and cultural expressions subject to processes of change and modernization. This merger does not intend mediation and leadership relations for all the groups that call themselves muxe’, nor does it intend acceptance to their condition in the national environment. There is tension between the ancestral practices and the binary-gender orientation, which results in discrimination to the muxe’ men and this discrimination increases if their labor practices are associated with feminine labors.