Gender and MachismoMitchell * Gibson * DavisoOdyssey Course

Andover High School

Plus “Lukin’s Bed”

Discussion

Questions

0https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZslyHY4quQ

Stereotypical Gender Norms

Macho

Machismo

0Distinct masculine gender role for men. Hyper-masculine ideal. (Marianismo is the female equivalent). Greatest offense is to not “act like a man.”

0Power Relationships0 With other men0 With women

Origin: Machismo

“In Nahuatl culture, the term macho means . . . ‘one who is worthy of imitation.’ The Nahuatl dictionary also states that the word macho means ‘enlightened one’, or ‘one who had been made to learn’.

“Therefore, the pre-Columbian use of the word macho had to do with wisdom and leadership . . . Gender was not involved. When the Spanish came, their use of the word macho was strictly masculine. . . After the Spanish invasion a new word, idea, and concept was born: that a macho was a masculine leader who was enlightened and worthy of imitation. It was always a positive term.”

--”Machismo”

Connotations of Machismo

Negative Positive

0 Drinking0 Gambling, Fighting0 Asserting one’s

opinion0 Risk-taking0 “Romantic”

conquests/Displays of virility

0 Altruism/Protectiveness

0 Respect 0 Nurturance 0 Hard-Work

State of Women in Mexico

0Varies across the country. Most regions are male dominated/high patriarchal. The indigenous Zapotec community of Juchitan in Oaxaca is a matriarchy (Rhoda).

0Family and Children:0 70.9% contraception rate0 2.29 children per woman0 108th in the world for maternal mortality0 123rd in the world for infant mortality

State of Women in Mexico

0Workforce: 40-46% of workforce (“Mexico Making Progress…”; Rhoda).

0Education: 57.7% of women over 25 have at least a secondary education (“Mexico Making Progress…”)

0Politics: 0 More women entering politics on a national rather than

local level. 0 22.1% national representation in Congress (better than

the US!) (“Mexico Making Progress…”)

State of Women in Mexico

0 Safety: 0 Aprx. 4000 women

disappeared in Mexico in 2011-12 according to the National Observatory Against Femicide

0 Forced prostitution, rape

0 Little punishment for crimes against women (Rama).

“Lukin’s Bed”0 How are gender roles portrayed in the story?0 How does the story conflict with (or compliment) the concept of

machismo?0 How does the women’s departure change the men? Change

gender roles? 0 The story is described as “post-feminist.” If we accept a broad

definition of feminism to mean “the advocacy of women's rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic equality to men”, what does it mean to be “post-feminism” or “post-feminist”?

0 What do you make of the men’s behavior when the women return?

0 Anything else you’d like to discuss or comment on?

Sources

0 In and Out. Dir. Frank Oz. Perf. Kevin Kline, Joan Cusack, Tom Sellack. Paramount Pictures, 1997. YouTube. YouTube, 6 Nov. 2012. Web. 7 Sept. 2014.

0 "Macho." Def. British Definition. Dictionary.com. N.p., n.d. Web.0 "Machismo." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 09 Mar. 2014. Web.

07 Sept. 2014.0 "Military." Mexico Machismo. Global Security, n.d. Web. 07 Sept. 2014.0 Rama, Anahi, and Lizbeth Diaz. "Violence against Women 'pandemic'

in Mexico." Reuters. Thomson Reuters, 07 Mar. 2014. Web. 07 Sept. 2014.

0 Rhoda, Richard, and Tony Burton. "Female Quality of Life in Mexico." Mexico Living. N.p., 4 Feb. 2010. Web. 07 Sept. 2014.