“Toward New Masculinities” from Beyond Machismo: Aida Hurtado and Mrinal Sinha
Hurtado and Sinha present the definition of masculinity within the Spanish culture. Although there are similarities between being a man in American society and Hispanic society, there are more differences. I did not expect there to be such major differences between the two and find it interesting that wherever someone goes, the definition of manhood changes. For the Hispanic culture, as described by Hurtado and Sinha, since they (Hispanic people) have been in a very different situation than American’s, they had defined being a man as the bread winner of the household. Furthermore, they define manhood through relational engagements, positive ethical positionings, and rejection of hegemonic masculinity. The rejection of hegemonic masculinity caught me slightly off guard because numerous other articles I read had revolved masculinity around this topic. Although some aspects of it are implemented, it is almost entirely rejected. Being a man is being the bread winner, and you don’t necessarily have to be a man to be that. Doing the most work within a household, and/or for a household proves your manhood. This is interesting because it seems like an easy and logical way to determine masculinity, instead of using the hegemonic masculinity “guidelines”. However, each system does have questionable ‘requirements’ for being a man/masculine.