The historical study of LGBTQ people in Mexico can be divided into three separate periods, coinciding with the three main periods of Mexican history: pre-Columbian, colonial, and post-independence, in spite of the fact that the rejection of LGBTQ identities forms a connecting thread that crosses the three periods.
The data on the pre-Columbian people and those of the period of colonization is scarce and obscure. Historians often described the indigenous customs that surprised them or that they disapproved of, but tended to take a position of accusation or apology, which makes it impossible to distinguish between reality and propaganda. In general, it seems that the Mexica were as homophobic as the Spanish, and that other Indigenous peoples tended to be much more tolerant,[1] to the point of honoring Two-Spirit people as shamans.
The history of LGBTQ people in the colonial period and after independence is still in great part yet to be studied. Above all, the 1658 executions of sodomites and the 1901 Dance of the Forty-One—two great scandals in Mexican public life—dominate the scene.
The situation is changing in the 21st century, in part thanks to the discovery of the LGBTQ community as potential consumers—the so-called pink peso—and tourists. Laws have been created to combat discrimination (2003), and two federal entities, the Federal District and Coahuila, have legalized civil unions for same-sex couples (2007). On December 21, 2009, despite opposition from the Church, the Government of Mexico City approved same-sex marriage, with 39 votes in favor, 20 against and 5 abstaining. It was the first city in Latin America to do so.[2] Later, this right was recognized nationwide. However, in 2007 Mexico was still one of the countries in which the most crimes are committed against the LGBTQ community, with a person being murdered in a homophobic crime every two days.[3]