The Influence Of Masculinity In Hispanic Culture

A phenomenon that remained constant in the Dominican Republic and in the United States was that of masculinity. In both cultures, the idea of “machismo” is extremely prevalent and inevitably determines the manner in which a man can act in society. Although I am privileged as a man in our larger society, there are many disadvantages that come with being a man of color in our society. In Dominican culture, there is a heightened sense of masculinity, and the standards of what a man is supposed to be are so difficult to obtain. To be masculine in Dominican culture is to assume the role of “machismo” by forgetting about feelings and emotions. Everything from how men act, to what men dress like is determined by this idea. Following this idea, I have to almost treat women as inferior and make them follow the ideals of the submissive housewife. Even more so, I am supposed to spend an immense amount of time chasing after women and trying to win them over through derogatory means. I did not like the idea of “machismo” and it never peaked my interest as a child, but my father’s involvement in my life deeply affected the manner in which I perceived masculinity. When my father was present in my life, he made sure to constantly remind me of what a man was supposed to be. He always told me that I was not allowed to cry because men do not cry, and said that I always had to be strong because someday I would have to provide for my wife and I could not be weak in order to do that. With this

We define masculinity in a very narrow way. Masculinity becomes this hard, small cage, and we put boys inside the cage. We teach boys to be afraid of fear. We teach boys to be afraid of weakness, of vulnerability. We teach them to mask their true selves because they have to be, in Nigeria speak, ‘hard man’ (Adichie).

Society faces an issue that is not usually addressed because it is seen as the norm in today’s American culture. It is the crisis of masculinity. The notion of how men should be portrayed is not usually identified as a problem; today’s society views men’s apathetic and exasperated exterior as the orthodox behavior of everyday life. Boys at a young age are taught by the popular culture that they need to be a “real man” - strong physically and emotionally. The mask many men put up is based on the extreme idea of masculinity that emphasizes toughness, physical strength and gaining the respect of others through violence or the explicit threat of it. This front is put up by men because they do not want to stray from what is accepted, for men who

Men and women are treated very differently in other parts of the world; especially in a Hispanic household. In many Hispanic households, females and males are treated very differently, not only in this generation but in the previous generations. Each gender has their own role in the household, but each role that the male or female have are very dissimilar in their own ways. The roles that these people have are unfair and they are not equal. This situation has gotten better over the years, but it can still improve.

No matter what, we are almost always talking about violence masculinity in America. Whether we are talking about the horrifying, high-profile mass shooting we have seen over recent decades, the far greater rates of murder and gun violence we see on a day – to – day basis that barely register in the national news, or the epidemic of sexual violence and domestic violence, the vast majority of this violence is committed by men, young men, and boys (Jackson Katz, 2013). Throughout this essay the topics covered will be how culture defines masculinity, according to the film, violent masculinity as a cultural norm, agents of socialization that teach boys how to be men, the cool

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

This paper discusses Machismo among Latino Americans in the modern society and how it shapes the social constructs within which they live. It will discuss how machismo shapes gay men and how they build cultural capital in order to negotiate through life. The paper will also discuss the effects of machismo on marianismo, and how the rules around machismo

America used to have the same gender roles as Hispanic culture but now it’s been fading away quickly and are getting close to gender equality while Hispanic culture are still behind compared to other developing countries culture. In Hispanic culture there are two types of roles, Machismo which applied to the male and Marianismo to the female. Machismo is associated with dominant and Marianismo is associated with dependent and submissive.

Imagine someone is lost, standing in a checkout line at a corner drugstore. They need directions to get back on the road. The couple in front of them is having a very engaging conversation, fluently, in Spanish. Most would not even give an effort to talk or ask where to go, but why not? Too often the assumption is made that people who speak Spanish are immigrants, and do not speak English well. Hispanics are, persons of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American descent, other Spanish culture or origin regardless of race. Too often the assumption is made that Spanish-speakers are unamerican, lazy, receive low income, or are uneducated in any way. Hispanics are also demonized in the media as people who are stealing American jobs. That is the belief that some Americans associate with Hispanics.

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

Whether we recognize it or not, our everyday actions and ideas are directed by the “normal” actions of our gender. Although the last century has been the most revolutionary in terms of gender rights, gender norms and roles still continue to push back and damage every aspect of society. Both Michael Kimmel, author of the story “Bros Before Hos, The Guy Code” and Junot Díaz, author of the essay “How To Date A Browngirl, Blackgirl, Whitegirl, or Halfie” illustrate that gender roles and norms are incredibly detrimental to everyone in society. As a result, both texts implicitly explore how gender roles damage everyone regardless of gender as well as every aspect of society, result in separation rather than unification, and actively change our

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.

In the more traditional regions of Latin America, the ideal behavior of women and men is usually more dissimilar than it is in most of North America and even Northern Europe.  Latin American men are expected to be macho's they should be overtly masculine, confident, strong, always in control of their emotions, and sexually demanding.  Women are expected to be emotional, nurturing, faithful, and passive in response to the demands of their husbands.  In other words, men and women should have polar opposite but complementary personalities and roles in life.  There is no room in this ideal Latin American perception for passive men and aggressive women.  In reality, however, few people actually fit the ideal of extreme masculinity or femininity

The notion of hegemonic masculinity has altered the field of gender studies and many academic arenas. An idea popularized by R.W. Connell, hegemonic masculinity has played an integral role in the emotional development of American men, articulating the impact that this societal construction has had on the concept of American masculinity. It is a contested topic, yet the impacts that it has in terms of sexuality, struggles for power and political leadership, and gender identities are valid (Connell 830). Although difficult to fully achieve, it acts as a guiding force for the stereotypically masculine. Hegemonic masculinity assumes the subordination of all other forms of masculinity, placing it at the top of the social hierarchy. At the same time, the idea of hegemonic masculinity has served as a bridge between the growing field of men’s’ studies and female studies (Connell 829). Several authors share the premise that men in American society conform to the standards of the social construct of hegemonic masculinity.

Masculinity is a term that is often associated with strength, power, control, and dominance in men. However, many texts support the claim that masculinity can be perceived as “socially constructed” and available for systematic discrepancy, similar to femininity. For example, in Michael Kimmel’s “Men, Masculinity, and the Rape Culture,” Kimmel identifies the “traditional masculinity” in which men exclusively can experience the “right to manhood” and the “dare and aggression” that is rightfully theirs (Kimmel, 142).