Instagram | @voguemexico

Vogue Reveals First Third-Gender Person To Grace Cover In Stunning New Photos

Updated August 16, 2021

For the first time in the history of the coveted fashion magazine, Vogue is highlighting a third-gender person and featuring her on the cover.

The cover features 37-year-old Zapoteca muxe, Estrella Vazquez.

Back in August, she had no idea what Vogue was. Now, she's a cover star.

All cultures have their own term for what comprises a third gender individual, or non-binary, but Muxe is specific to Mexico, with their own history of marginalization and discrimination within Roman-Catholic influence.

Muxe (pronounced moo-she) is an indigenous Mexican identity for third-gender people, and the identity has been part of the culture for centuries.

According to Reuters, Muxes are indigenous transgender women who mix both gay male and feminine identities effortlessly.

The designer and weaver sees her cover as a major step in combating stigma and shaping public discourse, especially in Mexico.

“I think it’s a huge step,” Vazquez told Reuters.

“There’s still discrimination, but it’s not as much now and you don’t see it like you once did."

Vasquez's participation in the photo shoot and spread is not only incredibly important for her own country, but the whole world.

"Everyone is seeing this cover, everyone is congratulating me. I don’t know; it’s just hard to make sense of the emotions I’m feeling. It almost makes me want to cry,” she expressed.

Giving diverse individuals like Vasquez a major platform like a magazine spread shows the major strides being taken for powerful and necessary social change.