Mexican Sexology and Male Homosexuality

This chapter examines the development of Mexican sexual science and its relationship to homosexuality during the period 1860–1957 by focusing on the murder trial of a merchant named Margarito. It first considers the sexological, criminological, and ideological genealogies that Margarito's case and similar cases brought to the fore before discussing sex reassignment surgery as a supposed “cure” for homosexuality and as a “solution” that demonstrated both the body's importance and the preeminence of modern science in restructuring that body to fit national aims and cultural sensibilities. It also describes the inherent eclecticism of Mexican sexology as a deliberate praxis that gave rise to a specific form of knowledge useful in disciplining sexual deviance. The chapter suggests that Margarito's case was a key example of the “Freudianization” and “Lombrosianization” of Mexican sexology as local jurists drew upon sexual science to selectively appeal to assumed universals.