What is "muxe"

In Zapotec cultures of Oaxaca (southern Mexico), a muxe (also spelled muxhe; ) is an assigned male at birth individual who dresses and behaves in ways otherwise associated with the female gender; they may be seen as a third gender. Some marry women and have children while others choose men as sexual or romantic partners. According to anthropologist Lynn Stephen, muxe "may do certain kinds of women’s work such as embroidery or decorating home altars, but others do the male work of making jewelry."

The word muxe is thought to derive from the 16th-century Spanish word for "woman", mujer. At the time, the letter x had a sound similar to "sh" (see ).