ABSTRACT
This chapter considers gender and sexuality in the Andean region from pre-Hispanic and colonial times to the present in relation to difference, inequality, and axes of power. It seeks to move beyond Eurocentric categories of analysis and to decolonize knowledge surrounding diverse forms and practices of gender and sexuality, which are always in flux and subject to renegotiation across societies. We will find that gender and sexuality, like other vectors of difference including race, ethnicity, and social class, both shape and are shaped by history, and that even marginalized groups find means of self-expression, resist exclusionary practices, and build their futures. Whether in families, communities, rural or urban sectors, or nation-states, people experience their gender and sexual identities every day and sometimes come together and mobilize for change.
