Machismo in Latin America

In the popular press, in reference materials and in academic literature, the term machismo has been used in many different, quite often contradictory, ways.  Even if no one can say for sure where the term came from or what it means, it appears to be a central concept in discussions of the roles, status, rights, responsibilities, influences and moral positions of men and women.  The most oft-cited definition seems to have come from Evelyn Stevens, who described machismo as a "cult of virility" whose chief characteristics are "exaggerated aggressiveness and intransigence in male-to-male interpersonal relationships and arrogance and sexual aggression in male-to-female relationships."  As such, this definition is a non-specific generality.

The Dictionary of Mexican Cultural Code Words reports "... machismo meant the repudiation of all "feminine" virtues such as unselfishness, kindness, frankness and truthfulness.  It meant being willing to lie without compunction, to be suspicious, envious, jealous, malicious, vindictive, brutal and finally, to be willing to fight and kill without hesitation to protect one's manly image.  Machismo meant that a man could not let anything detract from his image of himself as a man's man, regardless of the suffering it brought on himself and the women around him.  ... The proof of every man's manliness was his ability to completely dominate his wife and children, to have sexual relations with any woman he wanted, to never let anyone question, deprecate or attempt to thwart his manhood, and never to reveal his true feelings to anyone lest they somehow take advantage of him."  Now this becomes a multidimensional concept covering multiple personality traits and behaviors.  As such, it becomes difficult to classify someone as 'macho' or not without administering a full battery of reliable and valid personality tests.  Absent an objective operational definition, the term becomes an irresponsible way of associating negative character traits with an entire continent of Latin American men.

In this note, we will deal with one single aspect of machismo.  We will refer initially to some survey data collected in the TGI Colombia study.  This is a consumer survey of 7,035 persons in Colombia conducted by IBOPE Columbia during 1999.  The respondents were presented with this statement, "A woman's place is at home" and asked if they agree or disagree.  The Colombian survey results are shown in the following table.

% of Persons in Colombia Who Agree Completely with the Statement: "A woman's place is at home"

(Source: TGI Colombia Study, IBOPE Colombia)

The survey results show that there is a systematic disjunction between men and women on this issue across all age groups and socio-economic levels.  It is the traditional role for the male to provide for his wife and children.  But with the social, political and economic upheavals of this century, women are receiving more schooling and entering the labor force.  The macho man then feels that he is inadequate because he is unable to provide for his family, "like a real man."  But the issue extends far more beyond an economic one in which a woman's earnings allow her great negotiating leverage vis-à-vis her husbands and male relatives.  "With women working outside the home it's not just a question of them having their own money now, as important as this has been.  What's also involved is that women have met all sorts of different people, which has changed them forever.  And this has meant that the men have changed, for if they don't, more and more they're getting left behind by women." (Gutmann, p. 239).

Within each gender group, there are also differences among age groups.  Among the males, the youngest and oldest are more likely to agree with the traditional role for women.  Among the females, the oldest are more likely to agree.  If changes are to occur, they will come from the subjects themselves.  The young women today have many role models, either from their own environments or from the media.  To quote from Paternostro's book, 

"If I have a message in this book, it is to lay out an alternative to what our grandmothers and mothers, our teachers and priests wanted us to be, and what the men we are to marry feel most comfortable with.  Marriage and motherhood, although important parts of who we are as women, cannot be the sole and total path to our identity as women.  Having a choice in whatever we decide to do, from getting married to getting pregnant, can feel as natural and as imperative as going to Mass, to lunch, to the hairdresser.  The Virgin Mary and Miss Colombia cannot continue being our role models.  We need to introduce an alternative to the dichotomy between a "good woman" and una mala mujer; there is something between mother and whore.  The definition of "good" need not entail being virginal and submissive.  To be self-assured and independent does not mean we are whores.  Meanwhile, for starters, I propose that we make our women politicians talk about legalizing abortion, our soap-opera heroines have orgasms, our beauty queens have better hobbies than collecting bathing suits and tomar el sol, our love ballads impart messages that give women strength and not tell them to just live for romance.  Anything that keeps us from thinking that women don't have to think because men think for us.  It is okay --- no, it is indispensable --- to think."

Within each gender group, the likelihood of agreement decreases with higher socio-economic level.  We note that this definition of socio-economic level is based upon the classification of local geographical areas into different levels, which may be inaccurate at the individual household level.  One explanation for this is that females in the lower socio-economic classes have to work out of economic exigency to the possible neglect of housework.

For comparison, we will now refer to the TGI Argentina study.  This is a consumer survey of 3,216 persons in Argentina conducted by IBOPE Argentina during 1999.  The identical question was asked here, and the following table contains the survey responses.

% of Persons in Argentina Who Agree Completely with the Statement: "A woman's place is at home"

(Source: TGI Argentina Study, IBOPE Argentina)

These survey results are very similar to the Colombian results.  In addition, since educational achievement is also collected in Argentina, we find that the likelihood to agree with the statement decreases with educational achievement.  We also note that the definition of the socio-economic level in Argentina is based upon the household ownership of a number of products and services.  Under this finer definition, we discern that the likelihood to agree with the statement is slightly higher at the top level ("ABC1") than the upper-middle class ("C2").  Here, it is important to point out again that there is no single definition of machismo; whatever it may be, it is not simply just a sexist patriarchy with a standard repertoire of churlish behaviors (.e.g public drunkenness, violence, debauchery and wife beating).  There are in fact other perspectives on certain aspects of machismo.  Here is a dissenting opinion:

"Some of my male Mexican friends ... objected to my basically negative description of machismo.  They pointed out that the higher one goes socially in Mexico the more positive the influence of machismo.  They equated machismo with masculine values and behavior that are the epitome of idealized manhood.  They see the truly macho man as one who supports and protects his family in the face of all odds, who disciplines his children to be upright, honest and hardworking.  Upper-class Mexican men, they continued, see this positive side of machismo as one of the most admirable facets of Mexican culture.  In their view, Mexican-style machismo is a key factor in the molding and sustaining of the family and personal relationships; as the source of the discipline that instills courtesy and high moral standards in their children." (de Mente (1996), p. 175)

PRINT REFERENCES

• David Abalos (2002) Latino Male:  A Radical Re-definition.  Lynn Rienner Publishers Inc.
• Ruth Behar (1993)  Translated Woman: Crossing the Border with Esperanza's Story.  Beacon Press: Boston, MA.
• Elizabeth E. Brusco (1995)  The Reformation of Machismo: Evangelical Conversion and Gender in Colombia.  University of Texas Press: Austin, TX.
• Ana Castillo (1995)  Massacre of the Dreamers: Essays on Xicanisma.  Plume Books: New York.
• Boye Lagayette de Mente (1996)  NTC's Dictionary of Mexican Cultural Code Words.  NTC Publishing Group: Chicago, IL.
• David D. Gilmore (1991) Manhood in the Making : Cultural Concepts of Masculinity.  Yale University Press: New Haven, CT.
• Ray González (1996)  Muy Macho:  Latino Men Contront Their Manhood.  Anchor Books.  New York, NY.
• Matthew C. Gutmann (1996)  The Meanings of Macho: Being A Man in Mexico City.  University of California Press: Berkeley, CA.
• Matthew C. Gutmann (2003)  Changing Men and Masculinities in Latin America  Duke University Press.
• Sarah LeVine (1993) Dolor y Alegría: Women and Social Change in Urban Mexico.  The University of Wisconsin: Madison, WI.
• Alberto Mirandé (1998)  Hombres y Machos:  Masculinity and Latino Culture.  Westview Press: Boulder, CO.
• Sylvana Paternostro (1998)  In the Land of God and Man: A Latin Woman's Journey.  Plume: New York, NY.
• Rafael L. Ramirez (1999)  What It Means To Be A Man:  Reflections on Puerto Rican Masculinity.  Rutgers University Press: New Brunswick, NJ.
• Gertrude M. Yeager (1997)  Confronting Change, Challenging Tradition : Women in Latin American History  Scholarly Resources.

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(posted by Roland Soong on 12/12/99)

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