Editor's note: David R. Morse is CEO and president of New American Dimensions, a Los Angeles research firm. Susanna Fránek is a cultural anthropologist with research firm Ethnologix. Gerardo Gallart is CEO of marketing services firm La Fábrica de BTL.
In recent years, Mexico has been decidedly progressive in its efforts to combat discrimination and hate crimes on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. A recent study by political scientist Caroline Beer concludes that Mexico is more progressive than the U.S. when it comes to LGBT rights, especially in the recognition of same-sex relationships. For instance, in 2003 the Mexican Chamber of Deputies unanimously passed a national anti-discrimination law that included sexual orientation as a protected category and developed a national anti-homophobia campaign. In 2010, Mexico City passed a law allowing same-sex marriage; five years later, the Mexican Supreme Court released a “jurisprudential thesis” in which the legal definition of marriage was changed to encompass same-sex couples. While this ruling did not directly strike down Mexico’s same-sex marriage bans, it ordered every judge in the country to rule in favor of same-sex couples seeking marriage. Currently, Mexico City and 14 of the 31 states legally perform same-sex marriages.
On the other hand, progressive legislation aside, many would argue that Mexico has a long way to go in terms of full acceptance of sexual and gender diversity. As is the case in many Latin American countries, Mexico has traditionally been the realm of machismo and homophobia and many argue that this is still the case. Cries of puto, a derogatory term for a gay male, have gained notoriety in recent years for becoming commonplace at Mexican soccer games. A study by the Center for International Human Rights of Northwestern University School of Law states that “homophobia and transphobia remain prevalent in Mexico and d...