Discussing “The Macho, Macho Man”: Social Constructions For Latino Men

Macho does not prove mucho. - Zsa Zsa Gabor

Que es macho? What is macho? What does it mean to be macho?

The answer to all these questions is the same: It’s subject to interpretation.

Asking what it means to be macho is like asking: What do women want? And despite the different theories presented in books such as Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus and film depictions such as What Women Want the quest of understanding the female psyche is dependent on the time period and social reality.

The same applies to understanding what it means to be macho. Understanding and attempting to conceptualize male masculinity has been explored in different manners and fields, which has provided different insights into men’s behavior and interaction with both males and females. A way of understanding how masculinity is understood, is through Judith Butler’s discussion of “gender as a performance” that reveals how gender is a social construction that is performed in a certain way. According to Althusser, we are “always and already interpellated” into how society plays on the construction of gender such as using the colors of pink and blue to distinguish the gender of a baby.

Essentially, the idea of machismo is portrayed in different forms of media to reinforce the characteristics of being macho. An issue that arises from media is the concern of playing into positive and negative stereotypes of masculine behavior. This is prevalent when discussing minority groups or men of color especially since the comparison of their behavior is compared to White masculine behavior. For instance, upon evaluating different conceptions of Mexican machismo, there were different negative portrayals such as wife beating and exuding qualities of physical strength and pride. According to Alfredo Mirandé in Hombres y Machos: Masculinity and Latino Culture, American machismo appears to “attract and seduce women” while the “Mexican macho oppresses and coerces women.” The issue with these juxtaposing notions of machismo demonstrates the need to evaluate how the concept of machismo has been altered to fit the dominant narrative of society, especially since the Anglo culture has been the hegemonic culture.

Men of color struggle to understand their own conception of masculinity while attempting to balance out Anglo society’s negative perception of machismo in relation to Mexicans and Chicanos. For Chicanos, they are influenced by their Mexican heritage and their American birth. They live in a state of nepantla, which is an “in between state” of two ethnicities or identities. The men experience this state of being when they are conflicted or confused on how and what constitutes masculine behavior. Chicanos need to rise beyond the Mexican and American influences and create their own discourse of machismo or male masculinity.

Another factor that influences “macho” behavior is social and economic factors. Chicano men experience frustration for being subjected to a system of domination that oppresses and discriminates on the basis of race followed by gender. Essentially, the way that men have been socialized to perform within society has reinforced masculine behavior and codes of conduct that have become institutionalized by the dominant culture that have repressed men within ethnic groups to certain benefits as men. This form of repression has caused men of ethnic heritage to release their frustrations by oppressing women to maintain a form of control within their own ethnic group, such as controlling their sexuality by categorizing them as either a virgin or a whore. This has caused strong tensions between the dominant and minority culture for it reinforces negative stereotypes of behavior that is portrayed by the dominant culture and reaffirmed by the actions of the minority culture. However, Chicanos have reclaimed the positive and negative constructions of machismo and have created a new and advanced understanding that incorporates “male dominance.” Although the notion is current within Chicano communities, a male can exude dominance over women, but not necessarily portray macho tendencies and he can be muy hombre without exerting control over women. The Chicanos have demonstrated their Mexican and American origins of machismo by understanding that certain gender behavior does not necessarily come to define a man’s masculinity.

So, what is macho? It is the understanding of male masculinity that is influenced by media, society, and cultural beliefs. It is significant to understand that men of color need to create their own understanding of themselves free of media and mainstream depictions. Only each individual knows himself and what characterizes him a man.

To be macho, is to balance the good and bad, the masculine and feminine, and the dominant and subversive.

Jennifer Ellspermann