Cultural models of masculinity and drug use: “machismo,” heroin,and street survival on the U.S.-Mexico border

This paper examines the interrelations between “machismo,” drug use, and aggression among injection drug users (IDUs) in a US-Mexico border community. Underscored is the directive force and social impact of “machismo” in the day-to-day life-worlds of Mexican male heroin addicts, or “tecatos.” This focus not only provides a broad description of the cultural model of “machismo” elucidated by this group of men, but also illuminates how ideas of masculinity are internalized and re-created through drug use and aggression in the context of life in the streets. Attention to these aspects of drug use invites consideration of several important issues, including the role structural factors play in the expression of masculinity as well as the social forces underpinning representations of Mexican men.