The Role Of Masculinity In Dominican Culture

Language and Sexuality is something you would expect to see people talking about everywhere. But not everyone is so open to talk about it now a days when they are in public because most of what you see people doing in being on their phone. Sitting in my grandmother’s house was able to show me the way that most Dominicans would treat the situation when sex is mentioned to how they talk about it to the kids. Just having one hour to sit in the living room gives you an idea that it is not talking to the kids about sex but talking about sex in front of the kids. Sitting there proved that the more the kids hear about sex being a topic that is talked about, the more likely they all are to get together and talk about what they would do.

The United States is made up of an astounding assortment of people of all different types, boasting one of the most diverse populations compared to anywhere around the world. Of these different peoples, toxic masculinity affects each group differently, with an especially profound effect to be found when studying those who identify as Latin- or Hispanic-American. While attempting to homogenize the many unique and beautiful facets of various Latin and Hispanic cultures is a disservice, they tend to share many traits which can be simplified, including their ideas on gender roles. In many Hispanic cultures, there are strong gender roles and ideas about gender that are traditionally built into every aspect of the culture, especially in the form of “machismo”, or the Hispanic ideas of masculinity. In some cultures, “…women are supposedly submissive… men are characterized by verbal and bodily aggression… and sexual dominance,” (Cantú 150). When combined with the gendered expectations and stereotypes that are increasingly prevalent in American culture, young Hispanic-American boys are growing up with an overwhelming volume of standards being impressed upon them from all sides. This same phenomenon can be seen again in African-American communities and cultures, with the already painfully present standards of white American masculinity being taken to another level by a culture which serves to pile on an even stricter set of standards on to its men. As with the Latin American ideas of

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

For a long time, men and women have been dealing with the controversy of gender roles. In modern day, the battle for gender equality has been more known. In the story “Guys Suffer from Oppressive Gender Roles Too”, the author Julie Zeilinger explains how males are held to a more macho standard, but do have prevalent emotions. If we were to let go of these rigid rules about what is manly, there would be no standard for any gender. If that was reality, men shouldn’t have to feel humiliated about staying home, and if their companion makes more money than they do. Zeilinger talks about how males detach themselves from some emotions, and live a “life nub to a true range of human emotion” so they can meet this masculinity standard. However if males

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

In Michael Kimmel’s non-fiction academic book chapter: “Bros Before Hos: The Guycode” is an excerpt from his critically acclaimed book Guyland released in 2008, that addresses the ideals and fundamentals of where masculinity stems from and society’s direct effect on young men and the creation of the modern day masculine male. Michael Kimmel’s combination of credible resources, informative personal research, and real-life personal narratives that help to establish and support his strong and feasible argument, of societies effect on male masculinity, that readers alike can relate to and understand.

Sofia's ongoing conflict with her father represents a struggle for control of her sexuality. Their arguments also illustrate the cultural differences between the United States and the Dominican Republic. In traditional Dominican culture, a man's honor is determined in part by his ability to protect and guard

The movie surveyed a wide array of the troubles faced by boys and men as they try to navigate the realm of masculinity. A common theme was the command “be a man” and the cultural baggage that comes with living up to that ideal. To “be a man” means to not cry, to not be sensitive, to not let people mess with you, to respond with violence, to be angry, to drink, to womanize.

Patriarchy is a system in which the father or oldest male in the family or household has supreme authority. In our presentation we talked about how males are usually dominant and how the male and female play different roles in a family. Rocio’s husband is very controlling, very sexist, he presents himself with machismo and thinks that all Rocio and her daughter, Vanessa, should do is cook, clean, and take care of the males in the family. There’s been times that I’m out with Vanessa and her mom and it’s eleven and her husband is calling her, asking where she is and what time she’s going to be home. It’s very hard on her daughter, Vanessa, who is a sophomore in high school. She should be able to go out and hang out with her friends, go to school games, and be able to join the dance team; but because her dad is so over protective and strict she can’t do any of that. Even with dating, Mexican families have strong conservative traditions when it comes to dating. Her father is very old school and because Rocio was born here, she is more open minded and acceptive of things than him. Patriarchy has a tremendous effect on Mexican culture. Rocio says it’s very hard to live in a household where the person “in charge” is so close-minded and controlling. He’s very old fashion, and still follows and enforces these gender stereotypes. If it’s not cooking , cleaning, or taking care of the males in the house, he literally doesn’t

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

In today’s society, masculinity has changed throughout time. Fast forward one hundred years ago, masculinity is defined as being strong and having a good paying job. But as the world is changing so is the representation of manliness. You don’t have to show your dominance over men or women today, but you should support your family nowadays and we have all been brainwashed by the thought of masculinity from our ancestors. As men our reputation is always being valued but now it isn’t so much about our reputation but about caring for one another and especially for our families. Perspective of manhood is also a significant factor in portraying what masculinity is in the eyes of other people. Masculinity has been shown through money, appearance, and providing protection for your family members but as we shift into the modern world, masculinity is not seen as displaying the most discipline but caring for one another by taking out some of your time to help one another. Throughout the paper, I will be writing about my interviews from a broad spectrum of ages from one of my younger sisters to my dad with not friends not at Seb’s in between so I can get what it really means to be a man from all ages.

When people think of the word machismo, they automatically associated with Hispanic men or of Hispanic origin. This could be because of the word it self-wich is of Latin origin, and macho means male in Spanish, but because of this all Hispanic men are wrongfully characterized with machismo. Most people think all Hispanics behave in this way, which is not true. This behavior is often seen in many Hispanic males, and like in most societies other men praise it, the main difference is that in Hispanic society this type of behavior has higher acceptance than in other societies. Even though this is true it is still wrong to

Masculinity, a seemingly simple concept. Yet, when examined more closely, it is clear that masculinity is constantly changing in its definition as well as in its most basic essence. Throughout the years, one can see this evolution firsthand by looking back at the men who have been portrayed in popular media in the United States of America. From the suave Don Draper types of the 1950s to the more casual, educated, and easygoing men- with perfectly chiseled abs, of course- that are portrayed in media today, the difference is clear. This drastic, yet unsurprising, shift in ideals, as well as the exponential increase of media consumed every day, has led to a change in how “masculinity” is perceived, as well as how it is enforced by society in the modern day. Alarmingly, this trend has led to the birth of so-called “toxic masculinity”, a bastardization of the original ideas behind masculinity which has created an enormous, detrimental effect on society as a whole. As defined in the article The Difference Between Toxic Masculinity and Being a Man, toxic masculinity is “manhood as defined by violence, sex, status, and aggression. It’s the cultural ideal of manliness, where strength is everything… where sex and brutality are yardsticks by which men are measured,” (O’Malley) This is a clearly displayed truth, and it’s astounding to see how even from a young age boys are taught not to show emotions other than anger, conditioned to believe that being “like a girl” is the worst possible

According to Anthony Clare the heart of the masculinity crisis lies within the understanding of “the private and public sphere, the intimate and the impersonal, the emotional and the irrational” (Clare, 2000:212). Both men and women are both confined to their spaces and the line between the two has somewhat been blurred, thus resulting in a crisis. The way in which this line is blurred is by masculinity becoming more feminized. There have been two major shifts in masculinity over