Machismo In Mexico

In several cultures, women are seen as archetypes more than men. The proposition of women are instantly idealized and glorified and instantaneously ignore the true complexity of a woman. Countless of these superficial images can be seen across various cultures where the societies within these cultures define what it means to be a female and what type of behavior is and isn’t acceptable within those parameters. The persistent restatement of these stories throughout these generations reinforces the gender system. Women who step out of the norm in these societies are then held punishable for their actions. Alicia Gaspar de Alba pinpoints the three archetypal roles that are given to the women in the Mexican and Chicana cultures. These are,

In the United States of America and across the world, do not accept homosexuality. It is considered a sin. It is rejected among many cultures. In the Mexican culture, hegemonic masculinity: the way a man uses control and power over others, presents a series of roles, attitudes and traits that men need to follow to be considered a man in society. Some of these traits are physical strength, goal oriented, having control and being the breadwinner of the family. When a man in the Mexican culture shows signs of homoerotic desires, they are basically put into a subordinate position in regards to other men in that culture. “In Mexico men are socialized under strict gender norms, where what is considered “feminine” is rejected...” (Lorano-Verduzco2015). In Mexico, the word homophobia has been associated with hegemonic masculinity as it allows other men to be perceived as more manly or masculine than other men. As Lorano-Verduzco pointed out “Mexican men are more homophobic than women, and that traditional masculine traits are associated with higher levels of homophobia than traditional feminine traits”.

Rebecca Solnit’s article focuses on the ways male violence negatively affects women. Harassment from men directed at women keep women from speaking up, and many women are living in constant fear of male violence. They live in a constant state of fear because they are aware male violence is taking place around them. Women are also afraid of potential male violence because men openly express authoritative behavior. She explains men feel they have the validity to control and abuse women. Specifically, a man will approach a woman with the expectation that the woman will return the man with a sexual favor. For example, “a woman was stabbed after she rebuffed a man’s sexual advances while she walked in San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood late Monday night…”

Social standards may confine individuals from pursuing their own personal interests. Through the relationship between societal standards and individual interests, Sandra Cisneros’ short story, “Woman Hollering Creek,” introduces the roles of men and women in a Hispanic culture. The protagonist, Cleofilas Hernandez, is trapped in an abusive relationship with her newly-wed husband, Juan Pedro. However, Cleofilas tolerates the toxic relationship due to the social norms of her society, which reveals that the Hispanic culture revolves around a patriarchal society and that women have to be submissive to their husbands. As the story progresses, Cleofilas abandons the gender norm to lead an independent lifestyle.

During the Mexican Revolution, Mexico as a nation torn in many directions, people gave up simple farming lives to take up arms against causes that many of them did not fully understand. Gender roles during the period in Mexico were exceptionally degrading towards women. Having little more rights than slaves and treated as trophies or property more than human beings, women role in society was nothing near that of a man’s. In The Underdogs, Mariano Anzuela highlights the issue of gender roles by continuously illustrating the punitive role of women and their mistreatment. Augmenting Anzuelas work with citations from Oscar Lewis and Stephanie Smith will paint a picture of the degrading gender roles for women during the Mexican Revolution. Highlighted points brought up by Azuela are how men speak with and treat women, women’s place in society, and general disregard for women’s feelings.

The militarization of Mexico has brought with it increased incidence of rape by military and police personnel. In addition, the growing influence of organized crime has caused increasing concerns about human trafficking, mainly women and children. Therefore, Mexican government needs to design public policies aimed at providing better assistance and prevention for women violence victims. Also, Mexican women who suffer IPV need to be provided adequate

Lopez, R. A. (2009, April 09). The other side of machismo. Retrieved November 18, 2017, from http://www.latinoopinion.com/category/cultural-traits/machismo/

In almost every culture, machismo (or patriarchy) exists. Women are considered to be inferior and are treated as if they were objects. It is fair to assume that all women have or will face abuse or oppression for the mere fact that they are women. In Honduras, machismo is the backbone of society. In the book Don 't Be Afraid Gringo, Elvia Alvarado tells the story of the life of the Honduran campesinos (peasants) in the context of the military government of Osvaldo López Arellano and the installation of counterrevolutionary military bases between 1972 and 1975. The campesina women are expected to be servants for the men and provide for all of their children. If women dare to break away from these norms, they are denounced as a whore and

There are different countries and cultures in the world. Sometimes when Americans view other cultures’ values the actual truth becomes distorted. In her article “Americanization is tough on the Macho,” Rose Del Castillo Guilbault examines the concept of macho from both the Hispanics and Americans perspective. The Hispanic view of macho embodies a man described by Guilbault as manly, responsible, hardworking, a patriarch and a person who expresses strength through silence. She describes her father as a man who “handled most menial task with pride.” In a patriarchal society such as Mexico, the man is regarded as the nucleus of the family. The man represents

The story illustrates the overlapping influences of women’s status and roles in Mexican culture, and the social institutions of family, religion, economics, education, and politics. In addition, issues of physical and mental/emotional health, social deviance and crime, and social and personal identity are

In every country in Latin America and the Caribbean, women suffer acute discrimination. Often, the discrimination women face is related to social prejudices regarding appropriate patterns of conduct for men and women. This entrenched sex inequality provides the backdrop for the pervasive and widespread human rights violations women face in the region, with little chance of justice. The most pernicious types of women's human rights abuses in the Americas occur in the areas of women's reproductive and sexual health and rights, discrimination and violence against women in the workplace, and violence against women in the home. After decades of dictatorships in some countries, democracy has not meant an end to impunity for violations of women

What men think they are achieving by acting in an aggressive manner, holding their ground, sleeping with as many women as possible, all of these traits that define machismo. They are actually showing that they are weak an insecure, this to things which a macho man is not suppose to have, is actually what they are showing by behaving in this way. This is showing that they are in constant fear of loosing their man-hood and they believe they need to constantly prove to everybody that they are a real macho man. This behavior is apparent in societies all over the globe but it is wrongfully associated with men of Hispanic origin.

Barbara Perry’s article “Doing Gender and Doing Gender Inappropriately” addresses violence and gender, and how gender is influenced through the way it is perceived in society. The construction of gender comes in polar extremes, with masculine dominant men and feminine subordinate women. Gendered violence is used to control women as a class. It is a systematic tool used by men to reinforce gender norms and patriarchal ideas of masculine superiority and feminine inferiority. It “terrorizes the collective by victimizing the individual”. Like any dichotomy, it has scripts, and to deviate from these scripts will leave you labeled as ‘unnatural’ and ‘immoral’. These scripts “constrain everything from modes of dress and social roles to ways of expressing emotion and sexual desire”. In Judith Lorber’s “A World Without Gender” we are introduced to the possibility of eliminating gender and how “degendering [would] undercut the patriarchal and oppressive structure of Western Societies”.

Feminicide or femicide is defined as a sexual/gender hate crime, basically the killing of women and girls but definitions vary depending on the cultural context. Levels of femicide is reaching an ultimate high as the unknown genocide gain media coverage. Femicide has been hidden over the years particularly because the place these crimes occur. Popular in smaller countries or nation with corrupt governments evidence is shredded or destroyed to maintain government corruptness. These countless women and girls are natives to different countries throughout Latin America, sadly the number of deaths rises as women and children loses protection from their government and even family member. Places like Honduras, Spain, Brazil, and other places are at

Gender inequality has preserved the suppression of women worldwide and unfortunately it impacted third world countries like Afghanistan, China, Iran and Mexico with the greatest degree. The dominance of male control in these countries is currently threatening the progression of women rising above the constraints of patriarchy. The countless incidences of emotional, physical and psychological abuse that women face every day, must be acknowledged as the main concern for women worldwide and a global action plan must be implemented immediately. In a country like Mexico, the cultural and religious practice of gender hierarchy is accepted by women. Society does not keep in mind that the consequences of these practices will be at the expense of women’s liberation and development.