The Third Gender of Southern Mexico

Throughout ages, across continents and cultures, gender fluidity and the concept of a third gender consistently reappears: the hijras in India; the Meti in Nepal; the Fa’afafine in Samoa; the ‘two-spirit’ people in North America. They are not the exception, we are. Western tradition has constructed a scientific mythology on gender binarism. And it

Se trata de una identidad zapoteca, en Oaxaca (México), donde hay hombres o mujeres que, a pesar de ser cis -es decir, que se identifican con el género que se relaciona a sus genitales-, tienen roles propios del género opuesto.

I started wondering, who's offering a compelling alternative ideal of masculinity? I texted my friend Thomas Page McBee, who has written two books about becoming a man. He pointed out (in the least ’splainy way possible!) that I was asking the wrong question. Feminism, he replied, has helped women divest from the idea that there is a monolithic way

boys may choose to become Omeggid, literally ‘like a woman’, where they act and work like other females in the community.

“The Guna have taught me that children should have sufficient autonomy, as their ‘self’ comes from the heart, from within, and starts manifesting early. So if a male child starts showing a tendency toward being transgender, (s)he is not prevented to be himself,” he said.

I personally experience the potential in “boi” which supports a feminine strength, which aids in innovating and exists alongside other forms of masculinities.