A New Machismo

The definition of what it means to “be a man” in Puerto Rico has changed through the decades. In the 20th century, men exhibited what is called machismo. Machismo is an attitude of excessive masculinity; these men will flaunt traits such as bravado, strength, power. Because of this attitude, women are not seen as equals to men; women are merely seen as additional objects to own. Men have the power, and the man who has the most strength, money, and women is the best of all. It is not an exaggeration to say that these men would value the stereotypical “manly-man” body image; this man has muscles upon muscles, towers above others, and is overall intimidating. Recently, there has been a change in this attitude. Men are shaving their legs, shaving their arms and armpits, and waxing their eyebrows. These men look almost feminine, according to the feminine ideal in the United States. The bulky-muscular man does not have as much appeal as it did decades ago, and has been replaced by a slim metrosexual man.

A New Attitude or A New Form?

Is this a completely new attitude in Puerto Rico, separate from machismo?  Some would argue that though there are new traits, this is just a different form of machismo.  What evidence is there that this is machismo?  The gender roles have not changed.  Because Puerto Rico is a United States Commonwealth, both genders are legally equal.  Unfortunately, the attitude remains that women are second to men.  It is still a patriarchal culture with men competing to have “the most”.   In addition, “masculinity” is still being emphasized, though the physical definition has changed, and unfortunately, masculinity and homophobia go hand-in-hand when it comes to machismo.  These men still hold an intolerance towards homosexuality; this is evident by the recent crimes against homosexual individuals in Puerto Rico.  This is also evident by the lack of government level help against homophobic violence.

So why has machismo changed in Puerto Rico?  

It could be the influence of the media.  Cable in Puerto Rico has many of the same networks as in the United States (again, it is a U.S. Commonwealth), and these are the same networks that portray aspects of celebrity’s lives.  Although these are not full or even realistic representations, this is what they see; just like a teenager’s personal style may be influenced by what they see in the media.  Or you could even argue that the need to be “better” than a woman has led them to want to even “look” better than a woman.  Unfortunately, there have not been enough studies of the change in machismo in Puerto Rico to come up with a conclusion.

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New York Times