Hombres Y Machos: Masculinity And Latino Culture

Although patriarchy, machismo, and excessive masculine displays are assumed to be prevalent among Latinos in general, and Mexicans in particular, little is known about Latino men or macho masculinity. Hombres y Machos: Masculinity and Latino Culture fills an important void by providing an integrated view of Latino men, masculinity, and fatherhoodin the process refuting many common myths and misconceptions.Using in-depth personal interviews, Alfredo Mirand examines how Latino men view themselves on topics ranging from machos and machismo to beliefs regarding masculinity and fatherhood. In addition to reporting research findings and placing them within a historical context, Mirand draws important insights from his own life. }Although patriarchy, machismo, and excessive masculine displays are assumed to be prevalent among Latinos in general and Mexicans in particular, little is known about Latino men or macho masculinity. Hombres y Machos: Masculinity and Latino Culture fills an important void by providing an integrated view of Latino men, masculinity, and fatherhoodin the process refuting many common myths and misconceptions.Examining how Latino men view themselves, Alfredo Mirand argues that prevailing conceptions of men, masculinity, and gender are inadequate because they are based not on universal norms but on limited and culturally specific conceptions. Findings are presented from in-depth personal interviews with Latino men (specifically, fathers with at least one child between the ages of four and eighteen living at home) from four geographical regions and from a broad cross-section of the Latino population: working and middle class, foreign-born and native-born. Topics range from views on machos and machismo to beliefs regarding masculinity and fatherhood. In addition to reporting research findings and placing them within a historical context, Mirand draws important insights from his own life. Hombres y Machos calls for the development of Chicano/Latino mens studies and will be a significant and provocative addition to the growing literature on gender, masculinity, and race. It will appeal to the general reader and is bound to be an important supplementary text for courses in ethnic studies, womens studies, mens studies, family studies, sociology, psychology, social work, and law. }