Gender Roles In Zapotec Culture

When it comes to the Zapotec culture, women are praised and loved by everyone in their village. Some may say Zapotec culture is a matriarchy, a system where the women run the household, town, or government. It is true that the Zapotec women are powerful figures in their society, but to me, the Zapotec women are just regular women who know that work and money are important for both genders. To start off, let’s look at the socio-economic roles of the genders in Zapotec culture. Zapotec women are usually the ones who work in the local village market. They make money by selling goods. People may see this as a matriarchy since the women are the one making the money. However, where do the women get the goods they are selling? Most of the women in …show more content…
They march in rallies to protest acts or policies they do not like. While this may be true, women are usually not in office. They stay away from this and the men tend to want to hold office. People see the women marching and think that they are the powerhouses of the culture. This is true, but that would mean that the United States is a matriarchy. On a more lighter side of the issue, the Zapotecs are welcoming to LGBTQ members of their villages. Women are thankful when their son comes out as gay, because this means they will have someone near them until they die. Most cross-dressing and transgender members of the villages are men. This makes me think that since these men wanted to women, that they think that the women are so powerful, that they liked the idea of being one. However, there is another side where they just wanted to be who they think they are. The women of Zapotec, especially in Juchitan, believe that their society is not a matriarchy. They say that their women just like to work and support their family, and if people think that is a matriarchy, then let them think that. In any case, the people of a society are always right about their society. We are in no place to tell a certain culture who they are. If the Zapotec women think they are not in a matriarchy, then they are not. Just because the Zapotec women know how to think for themselves, work, and support a family, this does not make their culture a