"Juchitan: Queer Paradise"

In Juchitan there is a legend of how God meant to spread homosexuals around the Americas; however, as He traveled over Mexico, the journey became tedious and harsh and he broke his back, spilling the rest of the queers in Juchitan.

I recently attended a public screening of Juchitan: Queer Paradise. This movie chronicles the queer visibility in Juchitan, Mexico. In this city, there is a very strong localized and native culture. The city has, of course, been affected by globalization; however, the local morals and ideas remain intact due to conscious rejection of the English language and global hegemony. As a part of this local culture, women retain a high position in society. Women control local business and economy, while men do the farming. There is also a high percent of acceptance for sexual deviance.

Muxe (mU-she) is the word used to describe homosexuals. This word is slang for "woman" or "weak," yet seems to not hold any derogatory connotations. There is an abundance of respect for homosexuals in this area. They are allowed to express themselves freely, and even receive high positions in the local society. As one man was quoted: "What makes gays different is that they work harder than we do. They work as both men and women. They are forward thinking." The respect extends not only to the people, but even to their sexual acts: "If you've never done a fag you're not a complete man."

However, despite this respect and tolerance, there is not 100% acceptance. Heterosexuality is preferred, especially by parents (even among gay parents). The concept of gays needing to work harder, and life being harder also applies here. Though there is a lot of respect for these hardships, such as the man quoted above, nobody actually seems to want to extend these hardships onto their own young. Many parents, especially of transgendered and transsexual "male children, often make attempts at an early age to reinforce "manliness."

Even in the acceptance sexual deviance, there is not necessarily an acceptance in the multiplicity of gender. Muxe are seen as "half man and half woman." The conflict for homosexuals, thus lies not in "coming out" but in the contradiction that comes from gender expectations and religion. Muxe are still confined to the definitions of "man" and "woman," being forced to choose one role or the other and are in constant conflict with the Catholic expectations of morality.

At the end of the movie, I was left with a few questions:

1. Are there actually more homosexuals in Juchitan than other places, or is there more visibility due to a higher level acceptance?
   Visibility is a key issue to queer studies. Just because something is not seen does not mean that it is not there. The whole concept of "coming out" irks me for this reason. In Juchitan, coming out is not the issue, it is the tensions between gender identities and how this interacts with their religious views and sense of community. Because of this, they are more visible as "recognizable queers," yet their strife is different. In other areas, most of the conflict remains in "coming out" and "passing." For that reason, people who are passing as heterosexuals to avoid conflict do not have the same sense of visibility as the queer population in Juchitan, but that is because of a different sense of conflict
2. Is the community really accepting the people, as they really are, or accepting their actions?
   The inability to recognize the multiplicity of homosexuality and gender identity indicates a disconnect between acceptance of identity and actions. The external display of gayness is accepted (this also relates to what I said above about the conflict being differently located then the general idea of coming out). However, once identified as queer, and their sexuality is accepted, their strife to have a personal gender is contested daily. They are forced to either maintain a female role, or a male. Because of this, the notion of monogamy is working for queers in Juchitan (though it was noted that this is true for heterosexuals as well. As a gay professor, Eli commented: "marriage is far more depraved than prostitution"). The role playing is constantly conflicted, leading people to be in constant conflict.
3. Does globalization bring about the concept of the "global gay" and human rights? Or does it really bring about a globalized homophobia?
   The fact that Juchitan is consciously rejecting global culture, and their acceptance of homosexual presence is higher due to the integration of homosexuality and local culture, leads me to the conclusion that globalization is not carrying basic human rights. Instead, I see it spreading global phobias, such as homophobia. This is exemplified in the fact that the poorer areas of Juchitan are more accepting than the more globalized rich elite of the community. The wealthy are more affected by the notion of heteronormativity, which plays a greater part in global culture than this specific local culture.

http://www.filmakers.com/indivs/Juchitan.htm

February 28, 2003

Documentary

65 min.

Patricio Henriquez

Macumba Inc. International

Robert Cornellier, Patricio Henriquez, Raymonde Provencher

Patricio Henriquez