Blog Project

Reflection  

In my view, machismo seems to be supported by the myths and misconceptions that individuals hold in the society. Without a doubt, there are some traditions that view human sexuality differently. For instance, the Mexican culture somewhat considers the men as stronger and dominant over the women. Such beliefs normally encourage the society to discriminate and harass other people who fail to conform to the societal traditions. As I have already noted, machismo is a practice that should have no space in the contemporary society. Machismo leads to the spread of sexually transmitted diseases as it views men to be having power over women. Women are actually viewed by the male chauvinists as sex objects and anytime that a woman resists the attempts from the man, violence and abuse ensues.

Annotated Bibliography

Rosenthal, Susan. Machismo at Work. Health Workers. September 29, 2009. Web. Retrieved from http://www.susanrosenthal.com/articles/machismo-at-work

This source discusses on the negative impact that machismo has in the workplace. Rosenthal gives an example of an employee who failed to use protective clothing due to his unconscious ego.

Alcantar, Ricky. Manhood Marred: Why Machismo is Killing Us. May 2, 2014. Web. Retrieved from http://cbmw.org/topics/leadership-2/manhood-marred-why-machismo-is-killing-us/

The above source also highlights the negative impacts that machismo have on the society. In particular, Alcantar argues that machismo can make someone to be violent and aggressive for no apparent reason.

Rosenthal, Susan. Machismo at Work: False Consciousness or Self Defense. Dissident Voice, September 29, 2007. Web. Retrieved from http://dissidentvoice.org/2007/09/machismo-at-work-false-consciousness-or-self-defense/

Rosenthal discusses the negative impacts that machismo have at the workplace.

Lancaster, Roger N. Life is hard : machismo, danger, and the intimacy of power in Nicaragua. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2012. Print.

Ramirez, Josué. Against machismo : young adult voices in Mexico City. New York: Berghahn Books, 2008. Print.

Suggested Solutions to the Problem of Machismo

Summary

In summary, machismo emphasizes the apparent strength of men, particularly with regards to sex. The misconceived power of men somewhat makes them to devalue women and to observe as weaker sex and subjects of manipulation. For the women who refuse to be manipulated by the men, they end up being abused and harassed as they are viewed as non-submissive. My research would focus on the negative impacts that machismo have on men in the society. I have noted that the men’s strong appetite for sex sometimes enhances the spread of sexually transmitted diseases (STD’s). Secondly, the research will demonstrate that machismo promotes gender-based violence, specifically towards the women who fail to yield to the demands of the men.

Description of How Machismo is an Intersectional Issue

As mentioned, machismo makes men to believe in themselves and that they are better than other people. When applied in the workplace environment, machismo seems to have serious ramifications. It is an intersectional problem since it transcends class, sexuality, and the inherent ability of an individual. For example, a society that is stratified along class lines would have the upper class and the middle class taking control over the lower class irrespective of sexuality. However, in a society that is stratified along the basis of machismo, the main divide becomes the sexuality of the individual members in the society. In other words, the male sex normally believes that they are more powerful and with unique abilities than the female gender.

Discussion of an Institutional Example

Without a doubt, machismo has significant negative impacts in the society. In particular, machismo is apparent in higher institutions of learning and in employment. To begin with, in employment, there are some employees who view themselves as dominant over the other employees. The main fact that leads to the perceived dominance among employees is the gender disparity. Generally, men view themselves as superior and that they have unique abilities that women do not possess. The false consciousness that men are tough and should therefore behave in a particular way has serious ramifications to the employees, particularly with regards to the safety and health of the employees. For instance, some employees may refuse to wear protective clothing at the workplace arguing that real men do not need the clothing and that the clothing are meant for women who are allegedly weak.

Control

Machismo ideologies require that men should be able to control women. Excessive control is an early sign of gender based violence in marriage. According to Machismo ideologies, control refers to increased level of surveillance to women so that whatever they do conforms to rules and regulation of men. Women are required to be under men and all decisions rely on men. To ensure that there are submissiveness men are encouraged even to use force to acquire it from women. The major effects of control on men is increased engagement into risky behaviors such as drinking under the influence of alcohol, unprotected sex, and increased dependence on alcohol. Since men are given the mandate to control women, any decision or suggestion that women hold is viewed as provocative to them. Communities in Mexico rely on final decisions by men in order to perform tasks. Increased reliance on men to make decisions has had massive effects on the structure of the society. The major effects of reliance on men has resulted in decreased societal growth and poor organization of the family structure (Hurtado, P.45).

Additionally, control has limited women in Mexico to work without the consent of men. Women must depend on the approval of men in order to perform any type of work. Machismo ideologies rate women as second after men and employment is highly disregarded. Through this aspect, men have been left with less fields to diversify on. Mexico is a highly gender balanced country with the working population estimated to be over 90 million people. Control has lessened the gap between the number of women employed and the number of employed men. Through this, men have been forced to work extra hours in order to fill the required employment gaps.

Control has exposed men to risky and dangerous styles of living. Excessive drinking of alcohol and driving often leads to death due to accidents. Exposure to these activities due to the superiority in the society has led to increased number of death. Consequently, the society perceives men to be always correct according to Machismo. Increased perception that men are always correct has led to increased level of disintegration between men and women.

Increased Risk to contract Mental and Physical Disorders

Studies have showed a strong correlation between Machismo and stress and Machismo and depression. However, most men cannot accept these because machismo discourages men to openly expose their secrets. Depression is a state of mental imbalance that results from increased exposure to risky activities like alcohol drinking. Stress is related to machismo because there is a strong urge for men to show their manliness. To show superiority, majority of men adopt risky behaviors such as violence. Increased pressure from the outside sources leads to majority of men to engage in behaviors that decrease healthy lifestyles. The Mexican societies rely on Machismo greatly because of the increased dominance of men in day to day activities. Regulation of behaviors is only limited to women because men are required to depend solely on superiority to survive (Ramirez, P.12).

Violence

In machismo, men are viewed as superior and sole decision makers. Increased dependence on men for decision making has led to increased violence. Mexican Attorney for domestic violence reported that majority of violence cases in Mexico are due to Machismo policies. Machismo denotes the following ideologies about men superiority; each man should be able to prove that he is muscular, and each man should not fear anything. Increased appreciation of these ideologies in the Mexican societies has resulted in increased cases of violence across the country. Propagation of these instances of violence has been based on the notion that each man should prove himself that he is the strongest. Increased competition in proving the strongest always results in fights and increased cases of gun use. Mexico ranks among the most porous nations in terms of gun use and regulations related to gun use. Illegal gun use in Mexico is mostly associated with the creation of militia groups. Militia groups demarcate boundaries for people who need to prove themselves as the most superior in the society. Increased gun use has led to an outcry in Mexico over innocent deaths. 

Alcoholism

Machismo ideologies purport that real men should drink alcohol. Heavy drinking is glorified in machismo because it defines real men. In Mexican society, drinking of alcohol is greatly encouraged for men. Signs of strong men is established through heavy drinking and not showing any sign or impact of the alcohol. The strength of men is viewed in terms of how long one can sustain heavy alcohol contents in the body. Increased tolerance to alcohol consumption by men has been the major reason to increased disorderliness in the society. In Mexico the society revolves around men’s decisions. Embracing Machismo ideologies has led to increased disintegration of families due to increased drinking and disorderliness. Increased abuse of alcoholism in the Mexican society has increased psychological harm to men in the society. The major psychological problems caused by excessive alcohol drinking is increased anxiety and disorderliness. Increased over drinking in upholding the Machismo principles has been the major source disorderliness.

Consequently, another effect of drinking alcohol in large quantities is increased joblessness in the society. In Mexico men are viewed as sole bread winners in the society. Increased consumption of alcohol therefore renders most families’ poor because of the heavy reliance on men for the provision of most basic needs. Increased level of association between Machismo principles and its glorification of alcohol drinking has been the main reason why majority of families in Mexico are divorced. The perception that real men drink has led to massive effects especially on the unity between the father and the other family members in the society.

Sexuality

Machismo propagates that men should have a large appetite for sex. Strong appetite for sex therefore means that man cannot survive only with one woman. The major effect of these theory is increased infidelity and transmission of sexually transmitted diseases. Sternberg theorem in machismo labels women as vessels of reproduction. As vessels of reproduction, women are required to provide children to men always. Additionally, these theorem labels women as vessels of transmitting diseases. In relation to the Mexican culture, there has been increased instances where women are battered after refusing to give in to men’s demands. In Mexican culture, there has been increased percentages of HIV spread. The spread of HIV has been caused by infidelity and increased number of early sex within teenagers. Mexican societies conform to the Spanish rules and regulation. In Spanish traditions, men were allowed to be polygamous. The major effects of Machismo on men is increased spread of sexually transmitted diseases and discrimination against women. Men have increased notion that women should be producers only. Increased perception that men have high sense security has resulted in increased discrimination against women.

Hispanic culture is associated with distinctive roles for both men and women. The Mexican culture places high emphasizes on manliness as opposed to womanliness. A very significant feature of the society in Mexico is based on the on the delimitations that occur in the society. Societal superiority has been based on the roles played by both men and women in the Mexican society. Machismo labels men as independent and dominant while female are submissive, timid, and submissive to men. The differences in the extequiste roles played by men and women in the Mexican society are due to hyper masculine notion also referred to as machismo. Machismo perception is that men should act as men and any characteristics related to women should be highly disregarded ( Lancaster,P.23).

Consequently, Machismo focuses on the dominance established by men over women. Machismo is not based solely on the comparison between men and women but the differences between the roles played by these groups in the society. Machismo defines the power structuring processes that occur between the genders as fragile. The power in men is defined through activities like gambling, risk taking and drinking. However, the conquest for women is based on the two audiences in the mind; the virility and the constant efforts to prove oneself to men.

MACHISMO'S NEGATIVE EFFECT ON MEN

Macho culture is dominant in our world today. Machismo is referred to as having a strong sense of masculine pride, it is a concept of exaggerated manliness (Lancaster p9). This trait has been associated with a lot of negativity such as male chauvinism and sexism. Women have always been seen as the victims of machismo, being forced to be submissive and enslaved by their partners. Supporting machismo is two thousand years of culture and human history. Men have always been known to be tough and hyper-masculine, so why stop now? But just what are the impacts of this culture in our society? Men have always been considered to have the upper hand in sexuality matters, but machismo is evidently affecting them, sometimes more than it affects even women. The negativity of machismo on men is far more serious and outspread than most people care to notice.