UCLA

Inspired by the ancestral cave painting, Drawing 18, located in Naj Tunich, El Petén, this interdisciplinary study focuses on aesthetics as a tool of resistance for Maya peoples from diverse genders and sexualities in Guatemala. Stemming from Maya gender & sexuality and diaspora scholarship, I analyze art and utilize a creative approach to the archive by relying on YouTube videos to understand contemporary Maya gender and sexual resistance. I develop Critical Maya Aesthetics (CMA)—a critical lens and framework to explore how Maya peoples in Guatemala have spoken, written, visualized, and imagined genders and sexualities—to help us understand aesthetic resistance to the cisgender heteronormative binary. Moreover, taking inspiration from Drawing 18, I utilize digital art as a method for knowledge production by incorporating two artworks derived from the research presented in this thesis. Through this combination of archival material, Critical Maya Aesthetics, and digital art, I argue that Maya LGBTQ+ peoples—especially those who are transgender, nonbinary, and gender non-conforming—are actively resisting the cisgender heteronormative binary through their critical aesthetics. Maya LGBTQ+ peoples, via cultural and gender markers such as clothing, hair, language, and material objects, demonstrate more fluidity in aesthetics compared to their cisgender and heterosexual counterparts. Therefore, this fluidness in aesthetics has continued to transform Maya cultures in Guatemala and has the potential to influence cultural practices in the diaspora.