Abstract
Beyond Machismo, by Aída Hurtado and Mrinal Sinha, is a trailblazing analysis on the emergence of a new Latino manhood—one that is intersectional and feminist. One of the most dominant narratives about Latino men, and Latina/o culture in general, is the concept of “machismo.” Latinas/Latinos’ relationships with masculinity are often framed as rigid allegiance to patriarchal norms and resistance to feminism. The authors argue, however, that this prevailing conception does not accurately capture diversity among Latino men nor does it document the social and cultural changes affecting Latina/Latino communities. This study addresses the dearth of scholarship addressing the complex realities of Latino masculinities.
To capture the multidimensionality of Latino men’s perspectives and experiences, Hurtado and Sinha’s anthology illustrates how the intersections of race, class, ethnicity, sexuality, and gender impact Latinos’ understandings and enactments of masculinity and feminism. The authors argue that the combination of Latinos’ exposure to Chicana feminist writings in college and seeing the women in their lives (especially mothers) experience patriarchal oppression work to mobilize young Latino men to develop a feminist consciousness. Hurtado and Sinha unveil the conditions under which feminist masculinities emerge among this new generation of Latinos.
Beyond Machismo is based on three original studies that the authors conducted: the Latino Masculinities Study, the Chicana Feminisms Study, and the Brown and White Masculinities Study. The Chicana Feminisms and the Latino Masculinities Studies evaluate young, educated Chicanas and Latinos’ views on gender and feminism. The Brown and White Masculinities Study compares Latino men and white men’s views on gender and feminism. The book’s main arguments come from the Latino Masculinities Study, a project based on 105 interviews with self-identified Latinos enrolled in college. They also provide an extensive theoretical overview of work on intersectionality, social identity theory, and Chicana feminist theory, particularly Borderlands theory. By combining these three theoretical traditions, the authors formulate their key concept of “intersectional identities” which they use to study the fluidity of subordination and privilege—a central feature in the lived experiences of men of color. Throughout their study, the authors acknowledge Latino men’s dynamic relationship with patriarchal privileges and vulnerabilities.
In documenting these journeys toward new masculinities, Hurtado and Sinha recognize Latino men’s complicated relationship with male privilege due to their racial and ethnic identities. They argue that this relationship opens up a space to question and craft new masculinities that move beyond the machismo narrative. These new definitions include an emphasis on relationships with family and community, respect, truthfulness, the pursuit of education to become a better person, and the rejection of hegemonic masculinity. These changes in “manhood” considered the intricacies of their various social identities. These redefinitions, however, raise important questions: are the respondents defining their manhood by adopting the same language used to characterize “womanhood”? Are they (re)valuing womanhood as they craft new configurations of masculinity? or are they combining them thus creating hybrid masculinities?
The most significant chapter in the book was the sixth chapter in which the authors focused on Latino men’s views of and relationships to Chicana feminisms. Although they had different trajectories toward feminism (some were rooted in personal relationships, while others were grounded in their experiences of racial discrimination and exclusion), in general, Latino men’s feminisms emerged out of relationships with women. Ryan Ramirez, a twenty-year-old undergraduate student, was raised by “a family of women, my sisters and mom, and I definitely respect women” (p. 157). The authors also document Ryan’s criticism on violence against women: “I think it’s ridiculous how many girls are date raped…Rape [should be] totally intolerable…there is no reason you shouldn’t respect women” (p. 157). Ryan’s love for his family engenders his respect for all women. In delineating their participants’ gender consciousnesses, Hurtado and Sinha pinpoint the family as a key site of feminist consciousness-raising, with mothers being the primary influence. Although the authors recommend future scholars to investigate the feminist mothering of Latino men, another phenomenon should also be explored: feminist fathering. Most of the participants admired their fathers because they had egalitarian attitudes, yet there is little research on these Latino fathers. Additionally, some of the men in this study will someday be fathers. Will these men practice feminist fathering?
The empirical findings in this book can assist scholars in developing a comprehensive theoretical paradigm that captures the intricacies in men’s journeys toward a feminist consciousness and their role in the struggle for social justice. The authors beautifully captured how Latino men’s gender consciousnesses flourish because they had access to higher education which allowed them to reflect on their own experiences as working-class men of color and what they saw their mothers, sisters, and partners go through because they are women. This is the manner in which Hurtado and Sinha make a revolutionary contribution to the study of masculinities: that Latino feminist men exist.