Machismo

Miguel E. Gallardo & Shannon Curry

Historically, the term machismo is a derivative of the Spanish word macho . Although the term machismo is Mexican in origin, the construct of machismo is an international phenomenon. Macho is a term that describes a male animal or specific types of tools related to husbandry. The term was translated by European Americans to describe a concept for Latino men and Latino male behavior. Ultimately, the universal term machismo came to describe a negative set of hypermasculine behaviors among Latino men. Machismo is countered by the traditional Latino/a standard of femininity, marianismo (a construct defined by the Virgin Mary's feminine virtue) and hembrismo. Marianismo describes women as spiritually superior to men, capable of enduring great suffering, whereas hembrismo describes women's strength and perseverance. However, for the Mexican people, and for many Latinos/as, solely viewing machismo from the negative or antisocial derivative of the term is debatable. A more culturally Currently, ...

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