Gay Mexico: The Men of Mexico

Jim Marks, Lambda Book Report
"There can be no more complete guide to the natural habitats-parks and plazas, bars and baths --. . . than this guide, which . . . includes [cities] from Acapulco to Zihuatanejo."

Mark McHarry
Gay Mexico's "scope is amazing and the content accurate and informative. Best of all, it helps make a country with a different language and customs more accessible to [foreigners]."

Language Notes
Text: English, Spanish

From the Publisher
This book is part of our culturally sensitive and responsible The Men of (tm) guidebooks in the tradition of the acclaimed The Men of Thailand. There is another guidebook with a similar name, but its actual name includes the name of the publisher

About the Author
Eduardo David is the nom de plume of a writer who has traveled the byroads of Mexico for over thirty years. There is no state or sizeable city in the Republic that he has not visited during the past dozen years as a full-time resident of Mexico.

Excerpted from Gay Mexico: The Men of Mexico by Eduardo David. Copyright © 1998. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved
GAY LIFE IN MEXICO How Common Is Gay Life in Mexico? There is a widespread belief among nave Mexicans that homosexuality is uncommon in Mexico. Macho men -- as the myth goes -- have their seoritas to serenade and their stallions to ride (supposedly their only "studs"). Some straight Mexicans will do anything they can to encourage this idea; gay Mexicans know it's fiction.A couple of years ago a Mexican army general, commenting on President Bill Clinton's attempt to integrate gay people into the U.S. armed services, claimed that Mexico has no such problem. He declared that there are no gay people in the Mexican military, although he did allow that there had been two-one was kicked out of the army in the fifties and the other way back in the thirties. Of course, there has always been a lot of sex between men in Mexico, but historically marriage, family, and the common desire to keep it hidden camouflaged it. Many men had sex on the side with their amigos, but then went home to the seora and kids. Most of them never thought of themselves as gay or even considered their behavior as homosexual or unusual -- it was considered just something between friends. Mixed in with the men who were bisexual or straight but willing to play were men who would nowadays be called gay. If a man was known to prefer sex exclusively with other men, he was called a puto, which is an equivalent term for "faggot" or "poofter." It is an offensive word closely related to the word puta (whore). You will see the word puto splattered on walls all over Mexico, and it's obvious that the boys who write these graffiti know what's going on. They know somebody is out there doing it, and they probably know his name and number. Who's "Gay" and Who's "Not So Gay"? Mexico is a traditionally male-dominated society where macho has meant what a man should be -- dominant, assertive, even aggressive -- not about to take "shit" from anyone. Today many educated Mexican men reject this concept, but it is still prevalent in much of the country. Fathers are expected to rule the family; things male are admired and femininity symbolizes the weak and subservient. This traditional view is now a source of great confusion, because in many areas the majority of families have no father in residence and mama is venerated. In many families, if the mother is married, her husband is in Mexico City or Los Angeles trying to earn money. The women are strong, the men are gone; yet the macho myth lingers on. Young men frequently pursue the stereotyped view of the macho male as their ideal. They struggle to be seen by their amigos as strong and masculine; their dress, speech and the way they walk are all calculated to emphasize the virile, the butch. When they come face to face with homosexuality, either in themselves or in another man, the reaction is often contradictory. They scorn putos, who by definition are not macho but, on the other hand, who's to sneer at a little hanky-panky with a friend if no one else is the wiser? Many Mexican men who have sex with other men around with other men are married, as is true in all countries, and some have sex with their buddies every chance they get. They may be bisexual, or they may have married for camouflage but, whatever the reason, it makes for a complicated life. They are faced with the dilemma of how to have it both ways. . . .


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