Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct word or phrase that best fits each of the numbered blanks. The Third Gender of Southern Mexico In the Istmo de Tehuantepec region in Mexico's southern state of Oaxaca, there are three genders: female, male and muxes. This third classification has been acknowledged and celebrated (13)_______ pre-Hispanic times, and it's hard to imagine life without muxes here. I was at Vela de Las Intrepidas, ...

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct word or phrase that best fits each of the numbered blanks.

The Third Gender of Southern Mexico

In the Istmo de Tehuantepec region in Mexico's southern state of Oaxaca, there are three genders: female, male and muxes. This third classification has been acknowledged and celebrated (13)_______ pre-Hispanic times, and it's hard to imagine life without muxes here.

I was at Vela de Las Intrepidas, the annual celebration of muxes that takes (14)_______ each November in Juchitán de Zaragoza, a small town on the Istmo de Tehuantepec. Observing the different muxes, I couldn't see much (15)_______ common between their styles. There were muxes who wore the same richly embroidered outfits. Others seemed to prefer Western-style dresses or drag queen apparel. And there were some wearing men's clothes, showing their status with just simple makeup and nail polish. "It's hard to describe who a muxe is. Basically, we can say that a muxe is any person (16)_______ was born a man but doesn't act masculine," Avendaño said.

The concept of muxe seem to exist only here, on the Istmo de Tehuantepec, where they are an important part of the community. Muxes have also been involved in the struggle for LGBT rights. Amaranta Gómez Regalado, a muxe from Juchitán, was a local candidate in the elections for the Mexican Congress. (17)_______ she didn't get enough votes, she became famously known as the first transsexual candidate of Mexico. She's still involved in politics, especially in campaigns against homophobia and for HIV/AIDS prevention.

This third classification has been acknowledged and celebrated (13)_______ pre-Hispanic times, and it's hard to imagine life without muxes here.