Gender was a fluid potential, not a fixed category, before the Spaniards came to Mesoamerica. Childhood training and ritual shaped, but did not set, adult gender, which could encompass third genders and alternative sexualities as well as "male" and "female". At the height of the Classic period, Maya rulers presented themselves as embodying the entire range of gender possibilities, from male through female, by wearing blended costumes and playing male and female roles in state ceremonies. This landmark book offers the first comprehensive description and analysis of gender and power relations in prehispanic Mesoamerica from the Formative Period Olmec world (ca. 1500-500 BC) through the post-classic Maya and Aztec societies of the 16th century AD. Using approaches from contemporary gender theory, the author explores how Mesoamericans created human images to represent idealised notions of what it meant to be male and female and to depict proper gender roles. She then juxtaposes these images with reveals that real gender roles were more fluid and variable than the stereotyped images suggest.