LGBTQ culture in Mexico

In Mexican culture, it is now relatively common to see gay characters represented on Mexican sitcoms and soap operas (telenovelas) and being discussed on talk shows. However, representations of male homosexuals vary widely. They often include stereotypical versions of male effeminacy meant to provide comic relief as well as representations meant to increase social awareness and generate greater acceptance of homosexuality. However, efforts to represent lesbians have remained nearly non-existent, which might be related to the more general invisibility of lesbian subcultures in Mexico.

Until the prominence of such openly gay luminaries as singer-songwriter Juan Gabriel, artist Juan Soriano, and essayist Carlos Monsiváis, gay life was safely closeted and officially unmentionable in the mass media. A Lesbian-Gay Cultural Week has been held annually since 1982 in Mexico City with the support of a cultural museum belonging to the prestigious National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) since 1987.