CHAPTER 12 WOMEN AND GENDER IN MESOAMERICA 445cessful delivery of an infant equivalent to a warrior’s taking a prisoner. A mother’s
death in labor was equivalent to being captured or killed. Box 12.1 provides another
example of military symbolism associated with women in Aztec society.General Pre-Hispanic Mesoamerican Gender System
Essential differences distinguished noble and common women’s status and leverage
within families, not only among the Aztecs but also in other Mesoamerican cultures.
The productive and reproductive activities of common women were highly valued
within a subsistence economy, where husbands and wives provided goods and services
for each other that could not be obtained otherwise. Both men and women valued
marriage as the first step to adulthood. For men, marriage often implied the begin-
ning of their own patrilineage. In the case of nobility, however, servants and slaves
performed many household tasks, and polygyny was common. Thus, women’s im-
portance hinged primarily on being bearers of legitimate offspring for rulership and
as a means, through marriage, to forge political alliances.
No uniformity existed in the ways pre-Hispanic societies structured gender re-
lations, roles, and the relative valuation of men and women. The three groups dis-
cussed before presented different degrees and forms of hierarchy, complementarity,
and parallelism.
An additional aspect of pre-Hispanic gender systems of Mexico was the promi-
nent role of homosexuality in religious life among Aztecs and its tolerance in private
life by many Mesoamericans. Homosexual bonds were considered normal in many
societies (Taylor 1995). The concept of a third gender may also have been prevalent
in Mesoamerica as it was throughout North America before European colonization.
The third gender is present in contemporary indigenous societies such as the Isth-
mus Zapotecs of Tehuantepec (Stephen 2002). In this society muxerefers to men
who appear predominately male but show certain feminine characteristics. Muxe
play no special religious role in their communities; however, they are considered to
be gifted, and parents frequently choose to educate muxe sons (Chiñas 1995).
Although both homosexuality and flexible gender categories existed before and
at the time of European contact, when the Spaniards invaded Mesoamerica, they
shared much in common with the Aztecs in their celebration of male dominance
and disdain for effeminate men. Homosexuality became a prime concern of the In-
quisition. By executing men who defied the boundaries of a dual gender system and
by destroying the social fabric of whole communities, the Spanish conquest and col-
onization radically transformed indigenous gender systems.WOMEN AND GENDER
IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD
The Spanish Conquest and Early Colonial Times
Sexual coercion was an intrinsic part of the process of colonization (on Spanish col-
onization in Mesoamerica, see Chapter 5). Spanish men saw women as objects whose
bodies could be conquered and utilized as rewards for their valiant deeds as con-
querors. Descriptions of violent sexual incidents during the conquest abound,