“I am Not a Macho,I am a Man”: Identity Construction of Trans Men in Santiago,Chile

Abstract

The study of masculinities in Latin America is becoming increasingly relevant; however, trans men (TM) have been highly disregarded. This is problematic, given that the transmasculine population can highlight tension upon the binary gender practices. Latin American research has maintained a biomedical perspective, with emphasis on sexual readjustment treatments, ignoring the subjective experience of TM regarding their identity construction, and the sociocultural implications of experiencing their identity as men, considering Latin American gender patterns and machismo. Under this premise, 14 Chilean TM were interviewed. Results show the heteronormative demands imposed on TM, which determine the expectations and interpretations associated with their transition process. This leads TM to perpetuate stereotypical gender patterns, which is a survival strategy, and at the same time promotes the maintenance of patriarchal privileges. In a transversal manner, it was observed that TM have new perspectives on masculinity, which allow for the questioning of traditional gender roles.

Keywords

Latin America Chile trans men gender transition process gender identity construction hegemonic masculinity performativity embodiment passing

Introduction

In recent years, studies on masculinities in Latin America have increased (Castro and Carmona 2021; Caravaca-Morera and Padilha 2020; García 2015; Núñez 2016). However, trans men have been highly disregarded in studies aiming to understand masculinities (Aboim 2016; Granados 2022; Haak 2014). This has limited our understandings of how trans men experiences can help build masculinities, in addition to perpetuating conceptualizations of masculinity from cis-hegemonic perspectives (Aboim 2016; Caravaca-Morera and Padilha, 2020). The latter has forged a knowledge gap around the theoretical study of the Latin American transmasculine population, with research mainly focusing on the analysis of the prevalence of HIV-AIDS and sexually transmitted infections, as well as impacts of the barriers to the health system for gender-affirming treatment.

The lack of theoretical production may be because research on masculinities has been understood as “men’s studies,” excluding trans men and transmasculine people from academic considerations (Nuñez 2016). Likewise, some work on masculinities has not necessarily considered how transmasculine identities help us to better understand the diverse manifestations of masculinity more generally. In this context, Alvarez (2017) explains, from the testimonies of Argentine trans men that transmasculine people become visible to others only if they achieve a masculinity shaped by the hegemonic culture—that is, if they are perceived as “real” men. This causes disadvantages for transmasculine identities that are not part of dominant notions of masculinity and make their life stories less visible (Halberstam 2008).

This knowledge gap is even more complex in Chile, given that the country has produced, in general, scarce research on the trans population compared to other Latin American countries (Barrientos et al. 2019). In turn, the Chilean body of scholarship has primarily focused on analyzing the healthcare system, and accessibility barriers (Galáz, Catalina Álvarez, and Morrison 2021). With respect to surveys of the transgender community in Chile, these tend to focus on the collection of data related to transphobic discrimination (Movimiento de Integración y Liberación Homosexual [MOVILH] 2021). However, those studies include diverse trans and non-binary groups, making it complex to distinguish the particular voices and experiences of transmasculinity.

Therefore, an area that has been under-researched in Latin America and in Chile, is the subjective experience and identity construction of trans men during the transition process. In this context, the aim of this study is to explore Chilean trans men’s experiences related to their identity construction, their gender transition process, and their perceptions about reactions that could emerge from their social and cultural environment.

Gender Transition and Trans Men

The trans population includes individuals whose gender identity does not correspond to the sex and gender they were assigned at birth, according to the cultural limits of the surrounding context (Barrientos et al. 2019). Here, we refer to trans men as those who were assigned female at birth but identify as men.

Typically, the understanding of the gender transition process among trans men has been restricted to a binary biomedical perspective, emphasizing the use of hormone therapies and other medical interventions as ways to achieve masculinization (Zapata Pizarro, 2019). Such means are considered to improve individual’s quality of life (Adauy et al. 2018) but sometimes the assumption is made that every transman wishes to access such procedures (Catalano 2015). Therefore, trans men are encouraged to subscribe to a medical masculinization, reflected in the expectations and demands associated with a medical transition process (Borck and Moore 2019).

Expectations of bodily masculinization among trans men are especially challenging in Latin America, where cisnormativity and heteronormativity are strongly present. Regarding these concepts, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (2017) has emphasized State obligations regarding the community’s recognition and protection, clarifying concepts and the potential impact that ignoring these factors can have. Cisnormativity is understood as the idea or expectation that all people are cisgender, and that those who were assigned female at birth always grow up to be women. Heteronormativity corresponds to the cultural biases in favor of heterosexual relationships, considered normal, natural, ideal, and referred over same-sex or same-gender relationships. Both concepts appeal to legal, religious, social, and cultural rules that force people to act according to dominant and prevailing cisgender and heterosexual patterns, positioning transgender persons as inferior in hierarchies in the social structure.

Considering that regulatory guidelines exist, a binary sexual difference—as well as the hegemony of hetero and cis normativity—tend to be strengthened and consolidated. Thus, there is a constant effort to imitate hegemonic masculine idealizations with the purpose of reproducing them and pathologizing practices that differ from the dominant binary structure (Aboim 2016). It is through the body that masculinity is shaped, and where cultural gender order is interpreted (Aboim, Vasconcelos, and Merlini 2018; Butler 1993).

In this process the body—and gender expression through the body—is central, as the body is not only restricted to the biological but is shaped within the possibilities of culture (Butler 1993). It is precisely under this assumption that gender acquires relevance, which is constructed within power relations and normative restrictions that not only produce, but also regulate bodies under the existence of a heterosexual hegemony that delimits political and sexual issues (Butler 1993).

This is relevant when analyzing trans masculine identity constructions, as it makes it possible to understand how binary gender practices associated with masculinities are understood and perpetuated through performativity as natural norms (Aboim 2016). Therefore, gender is best understood as a temporal process operating through the reiteration of such norms through performativity, and the reiterative power of discourses surrounding the phenomena in regulating individuals (Saxe 2015).

This notion of performativity refers, at first, to a possible transience of gender expression, challenging traditional gender mandates, towards making them more flexible and giving space to gender diversity. From this point of view, one could allude to a performative choice of gender, to argue that any person can do what he/she wants with his/her gender without major obstacles. Hence, it is necessary to understand performativity from the trans perspective, challenging the idea of “voluntariness” and transience, to give way to the emergence of trans masculine identities as non-temporal identities, without detracting from the fluidity of gender expression (Prosser 1998).

This can be observed through gender embodiment, defined as ways in which gender practices dynamically form patterns of bodily techniques (West and Zimmerman 1987 as cited in Williams, Weinberg, and Rosenberger 2013). Identifying oneself as a trans man could imply the embodiment of numerous characteristics and traits perceived to be masculine (Aboim and Vasconcelos 2021; Haak 2014; Williams, Weinberg, and Rosenberger 2013). Considering this, the identity construction of trans men (i.e., the embodiment or cognition of one’s own body) would not be a “free will” process but would be influenced by the various cultural mandates associated with role models (Caravaca-Morera and Padilha 2020; Gottzén and Straube 2016). Aspects such as clothing or gestures, are conformed as gender patterns that account for hegemonic masculinity, which are sought to be socially recognized as men (Aboim and Vasconcelos 2021; Gottzén and Straube 2016).

Hegemonic masculinity is deemed to respond to the sociocultural context, and hence, it is not a fixed set of traits, but is shaped as a culturally accepted strategy, specific to a time and place (Connell 1995). The trans body usually is required to be “normalized” through interventions that influence its corporeality, responding to hegemonic guidelines of the masculine according to the culture (Connell 1995; Connell and Messerschmidt 2005). Such gender guidelines influence trans men’s identity constructions to the extent that they establish models of masculinity, taken as irrevocable patterns where failure to comply with those patterns may be grounds for discrimination (Borck and Moore 2019; Caravaca-Morera and Padilha 2020; Nuñez 2016).

The above can lead to passing, referring to efforts to make trans identity invisible and seeking to be identified exclusively as men (Rogers 2019). In a cis-normative world, passing can be shaped as a survival strategy, insofar as being singled out as trans men constitutes a potential source of discrimination and transphobic violence (Abelson 2016; Anderson et al. 2020). This can also promote the belief that all trans men must undertake medical pharmaceutical testosterone to be seen as men (Borck and Moore 2019). This may lead to fear in trans men of being rejected by others under the assumption that they would not be “real men” if they do not aspire to such interventions (Catalano 2015). It should also be considered that embodying masculinity is not only a means to avoid rejection but can also be a way to access privileges associated with being a cisgender man, such as obtaining greater respect, security and freedom (Abelson 2016; Anderson et al. 2020; Gottzén and Straube 2016; Rogers 2019).

Passing is one of the most controversial elements in gender transition, because it would effectively allow going unnoticed, thus achieving social recognition as a reward for invisibility. In this context, the gaze of “others” is everything, and the trans experience becomes purely relational. People want to belong, to be desired or loved. In this sense, trans people live in a certain normativity, where the State and its systems should support transitions of physical gender expression, and provide the necessary healthcare services for such purposes (Plemons 2019). However, it is necessary to remember that trans individuals do not always have the intention or desire to change their physical appearance, and there is a need to provide visibility to those who “fail to go unnoticed,” many times voluntarily (Halberstam 2018).

Trans men who are not perceived as “men” cannot claim equality and acceptance or gain access to the privileges of masculinity (Rogers 2019). However, even trans men who access equal treatment and gain patriarchal benefits, such as acceptance and resources “understand that these privileges can be taken away at any time if people realize that they are non-cis men” (Pfeffer 2017, 39). Thus, even when some trans men want to develop transformative masculinities aimed at creating gender equity, they may still be disadvantaged due to concerns for safety and security, which constrains their practices of masculinity as well as their ideals of themselves as men (Abelson 2014)

In this sense, privilege is granted to perceptions of “masculine” bodies and performances, while those who do not adhere to hegemonic embodiments of masculinity are excluded (Aboim et al. 2018). Adhering would allow trans men to “elevate their ‘marginalized’ and ‘subordinate’ masculinities in relation to the dominant hegemonic masculinity” (Connell, 1995 as cited in Chong and Kim 2022, 3).

Negotiating Trans Identities in a Context of Machismo and Marianismo

Machismo (i.e., Spanish for male chauvinism) comes from the word macho, which is used to designate the male biological sex, as opposed to the word hembra (i.e., Spanish for female). Therefore, a person assigned male at birth are labeled macho. Machismo is used today in Latin American colloquially to designate gender practices. In a traditional roles structure, men should be the economic providers of the household, and women should exercise their role as mothers or caregivers. The latter is referred to by marianismo, a concept coined in Latin America, which complements machismo as a practice, and which comes from the Catholic tradition where the Virgin Mary represents the feminine ideal of mother caregiver (Marín and Gusmão 2020). Each of these concepts, machismo and marianismo, has their roots in the era of Spanish colonization. The man, represented by the figure of the conqueror or defender of the territory, was to be aggressive and strong, to fight with his opponent. Women often remained alone at home, caring the family and children (Montecino 1996; Olavarría 2009). Therefore, there has been a view in Latin-America that the man must leave the house to fight or to work. Work then, is strongly associated with masculine identity. Men also associate the body with masculinity, because the body is seen as a working tool (de Keijzer 2003).

This historical and colonial legacy maintains rigid gender mandates in Latin America. In individual terms, the construction of masculinity associated with the role of a worker requires a body that “endures” hard work. From this perspective, being a trans man, who was not born macho, will be constantly questioned given that his body would not naturally respond to the demands of physical strength typically attributed to “being a man.” This questioning can lead to acts of structural and political violence against trans men.

Violence towards Chilean trans men is an area that has scarcely been researched. One study reported that 76.1% of the Chilean trans population has suffered discrimination due to their gender identity (MOVILH 2018). The Chilean Gender Identity Law guarantees non-discrimination based on gender identity and regulate names changes and legal sex for people over 14 years of age (MOVILH 2020). Unfortunately, this law still has important flaws, such as the difficulties associated with enforcement, the exclusion of minors under 14 years of age, and the invisibility of non-binary individuals. Similarly, in the Annual Human Rights Report on Sexual and Gender Diversity in Chile (MOVILH 2020), no progress has been made regarding the pro-LGBTIQ + rights commitments promised by the State in the 2016 Amicable Settlement Agreement, signed before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. These commitments contemplated, among others, the creation of an education policy that considers sexual diversity and full legal equality for trans children.

In this context, it is the trans communities who have advanced in the struggle for their rights and visibility in public policies. An example of this has been the activism carried out by Latin American trans men for their right to access abortion.¹ (Gonzalez 2020). The First Cabildo of Chilean Transmasculinities, emerged from the Chilean social uprising in 2019, as well as the influence of the feminist movement in the country, challenging the stigmatization, inequality, and ignorance regarding transmasculine realities which work to limit their rights (Organizing Trans Diversities [OTD] 2020).

Continuing to explore the life stories of trans men in Latin America, particularly in Chile, could make it possible to understand their resistance, negotiation, and adaptation to the normative gender pressures (Caravaca-Morera and Padilha 2020). This not only makes it possible to understand how trans men participate in gender inequality but can also shed light on their capacity to question the patterns of power in masculine dynamics (Aguayo and Nascimiento 2016; Caravaca-Morera and Padilha 2020).

Methodological Considerations

This research is part of a Chilean grant FONDECYT: Young masculinities and health in the current context of increase of HIV in Chile (N° 11190286). The aim of that project was to explore perceptions and experiences of young men and healthcare workers about how men’s gender roles are construed. From a qualitative paradigm, the FONDECYT project mentioned above incorporated, among other settings, one of the health clinics that currently accompanies young transgender actively in Santiago, Chile.

All participants included in this study defined themselves as trans men. The research analysis is based on a sample of 14 Chilean trans men (see table 1) who are residents of the southeastern sector of Santiago. All participants had initiated transition process from their own subjectivity and self-definition, either medically, socially and/or legally.

Table 1.

Sociodemographic Data.

	%	N
Age
18–21	36	(5)
22–25	36	(5)
26–29	21	(3)
56	7	(1)
Sexual orientation
Heterosexual	71	(10)
Homosexual	7	(1)
Bisexual	15	(2)
Prefers not to answer	7	(1)
Student status
Yes	36	(5)
No	64	(9)
Employment status
With paid work	50	(7)
Without paid work	50	(7)
Educational level
Incomplete high school education	7	(1)
Complete high school education	57	(8)
Higher education completed	36	(5)

Participants were recruited through snowball sampling, via personal contacts and contact with a public health clinic. Regarding the former, a trans man who is part of the research team asked to recommend potential participants. Regarding recruitment from the health clinic, a survey was conducted in the facility with the authorization of the psychosocial office. At the end of the survey, the purpose of the research was presented, and participants were asked if they were interested in participating. Those trans men who wished to be part of the project provided contact details and were contacted for interview. In this sampling method, interviewees were asked to recommend potential participants (Izquierdo 2015).

At the time of the interviews, 12 participants were in the process of hormone suppression and the use of pharmaceutical testosterone, while two of them had not yet started this treatment but expressed a desire to do so. Regarding care in health centers, 11 of the interviewees were treated in the public system and three in the private system. This is relevant when thinking about medically assisted transitions, because although in Chile there are programs whose purpose is to provide specialized care to trans people, the benefits depend on the availability of each center and waiting lists can be excessively long due to the scarce resources that these facilities have (Gonzalez et al. 2018).

Once all the participants had been contacted, the interviews were scheduled at a time agreed upon by both parties and were conducted online on Zoom. The virtual format may have affected the relationship between the research team and participants. However, the limitations imposed by the confinements associated with Covid-19 did not allow the interviews to be conducted face-to-face. For the data collection a semi-structured interview was use, which had a set of pre-established questions, but also provided space and flexibility for meaningful interaction. The research team conducted all interviews. Each interview lasted approximately 1 h.

Transcripts were recorded, transcribed, and coded using NVivo. To systematize the information collected, a thematic content analysis was carried out, which aims at “identifying, organizing, analyzing and reporting patterns or themes from a careful reading and re-reading of the information collected” (Mieles, Tonon, and Alvarado 2012, 217). Pseudonyms were used for both individuals and institutions, thus protecting participants confidentiality.

Finally, this study was carried out from a situated perspective of qualitative research, in which knowledge is recognized as being partial and positioned within a particular time and place (Sandoval 2013). Several authors from the global north, as well from Latin America and Chile were considered for the literature review and analysis. An effort was made to incorporate the analysis of authors who belong to the trans community. The research team that carried out this study is diverse in relation to gender and identity. A trans man, who is part of the research team, has had an active role in the formulation of the research proposal, in the design of procedures for data collection, analysis and writing of findings. This has been essential for the research team in ethical terms, and for the epistemological implications of the research.

Findings

Findings suggest that participants interpreted transition processes as the acceptance of their own gender identities as individuals, as well as “coming out” to others. The process was also reflected in (inter)personal changes within participants in relation to how they experience their identity as men. This was observed when participants described their experiences and identity constructions as being influenced by interpersonal contexts, interactions, and gender norms related to masculinity and dictating how a “Chilean man” should feel, act, and look.

The Role of the Body in the Construction of Masculine Identity

From the interviewees, it was observed that transition process mainly begins at an early age, between school and adolescence. For some participants, the process begins with questioning the gender roles they were assigned as children in contexts such as “wearing pink clothes.” Participants expressed they generally preferred elements perceived to be masculine, as suggested by Carlos: “They wanted me to wear a skirt, pink things and all that, but I wore baggy pants, baggy clothes.”

For another group of interviewees, transition process began when they “came out” in their social environment. For some, “coming out” was expressed through their sexual orientation, particularly from their identification as lesbians. As German narrates, coming out as a lesbian could be based on the belief that this would be temporary: “I came out but as a lesbian; I was a lesbian for a while, thinking that I was going to change.”

Once the participants had identified themselves as trans men, the transition process was mostly directed toward using hormonal and/or surgical treatments for gender readjustment. Their main expectation was body modification, which may be related to different reasons. For instance, participants expressed the desire to adopt physical characteristics perceived to be consistent with the masculine gender. Thus, for Marcos, a body with “feminine” characteristics did not align with his identity, making the use of pharmaceutical testosterone necessary: “That’s why I’m on hormone therapy, because I told myself: this is not my body.”

However, the above is not always based on the individual desires. Binary gender norms also play significant roles in delimiting how men should look or, according to Sebastian, “what you should do and not do, or how you should look to society.” For Sebastian, the concept of masculinity is shaped by “parameters” about what it means to be a man: “Having a beard, wearing masculine clothes and having the most masculine gender expression possible.” For instance, Sergio and Carlos argue that even when body modification is not a personal aspiration, it is still necessary to acquire an image that aligns with the social and cultural vision of masculine gender, Sergio refers:

It was very important for me at that time and now to have the secondary masculine characteristics. Because if people don’t see you as a man, they don’t treat you as one, and I know that's wrong, but that’s how it is… at least here in Chile, people have a very strong idea of a man as a man.

This acquires relevance, as it provides more visibility to those who do not feel represented by the masculine/feminine binary system and consider the categorization limiting (Stewart 2017). Particularly around non-binary trans masculinities, these have been theoretically understood as outlawed zones which are in constant tension with sociopolitical processes that tend toward the binary. Hence, their bodily territory is under constant tension and surveillance by social and cultural ideologies that establish masculinity from binary gender patterns (Stewart 2017). From this view, it can be questioned whether the bodies of trans people are necessarily in conflict with their self-identified genders, given that there are trans men who wish to experience their sexuality from the genitalia they were born with, and do not show any intention of receiving genital gender confirmation surgeries (Edelman and Zimman 2014).

Sociocultural Expectations of Masculinity: Strong, Masculine Men, Distanced from the Feminine

Once trans men identified themselves as men to others and initiated transition processes, their social environment, which enforced masculine gender norms, influenced how they constructed and perceived their masculinity. Antonio refers: “There are always stereotypes about men, that they have to be tall, bearded, hairy-chested, muscular,” which influences what trans men expect of themselves. For instance, Felipe comments that his father began to demand greater strength from him at the beginning, often saying, “I want to see you with muscles in a couple of years.”

This aspect may lead trans men to feel pressure to develop greater muscle and physical strength to meet demands placed on them. As reported by Felipe and Gabriel, based on their experience with other trans men, this mainly leads to the performance of physical exercise. Felipe comments: “9 out of 10 trans boys I have seen buy a set of weights, when they have never exercised in their life, but they do not keep it up because it is not something they want to do, so that affects them.” Gabriel refers:

I have seen trans men who begin to transition and start exercising to fulfill an image they have in their own head or an image that society expects of them. Whether it’s imposed by others or by the person themselves, physically they force themselves to take good care of themselves, to exercise a lot, to eat right, to put on muscle.

Gender binarism is present not only by requiring trans men to develop physical traits understood as masculine, but also by questioning the use of beauty products, as described by Leonardo: “Beauty products are for women.” Thus, exercising is understood as a masculine activity, through which trans men can acquire various physical characteristics that will allow them to comply with the sociocultural demands of how a man should look. But the use of products such as creams or nail polish is perceived as a feminine act, for which trans men can be questioned:

I started to make the transition and now it’s like ‘why so many products if that’s feminine?’ I've always been very careful with myself, so now, being a man, I don’t have to take care of myself and it's something super illogical. I say, hey, men still have to take care of themselves […] I used to use more feminine [beauty] products, not so dermatological and it's like: “But why are you using that if it’s for women?’

This not only refers to a physical aspect, but is extended to all gender expressions for participants, as they are expected to abandon gestures, clothing or tastes related to the feminine. As Sebastian and Carlos relate, once they identified themselves as men in their environment, the questioning was immediate, with family and friends constantly asking: “How are you going to wear that, if it is for women, why don’t you wear bigger clothes, men’s clothes?”

Gender patterns are also evident on the emotional level, where there is an extremely rigid perception of masculine emotional expression. This perception establishes the inhibition of men’s feelings, since the expression of emotions would be more related to the feminine. Felipe points out that there is a “two sided” vision (i.e., the masculine and the feminine) and once they have initiated the transition, they are told “now you have switch to this side, and you can’t do this, you must control your emotions a little more.”

Thus, the experience of their identity as men and the transition they make must conform to the hegemonic ideals of masculinity (Rogers 2019). This results in trans men constructing, personifying, and enacting their masculinity from a particular place, in this case, from heteronormative gender norms, which would contribute to reproducing the interactional and structural levels of society that delimit the expression of the masculine (Aboim et al. 2018). This promotes the idea that trans men must not only comply with gender norms so that their identity is respected, but must also do so to avoid debates regarding their sexual orientation, as Sebastian explains:

Although I am a trans guy, my gender expression is not so masculine, in the sense that I have, I don't know…in a macho society they would be more feminine expressions, and it has happened to me that they say ‘are you sure you like women? Because your way of being shows the total opposite’ or ‘I think you are gay, because you manifest yourself in such a way, you have a certain accent in your voice’ or I don't know, the issue of how men always have their legs open when sitting, that a man who has his legs crossed when sitting is gay. …

From Butler’s (1993) framework of gender performativity, sex/gender alignment, and the heterosexual matrix, it is possible to understand the normative basis from which the transition process takes place. This also shows how cisnormativity, macho and heteropatriarchal ideologies are further reinforced as means for gender policing. However, based on the interviewees' accounts, it was possible to observe a desire to question the traditional mandates of masculinity, understanding that masculinity can be experienced in a variety of ways. This is consistent with Halberstam’s (2008) notion of female masculinity makes the proposition that it is possible to study masculinity without [cis]men, which challenges a cultural intolerance towards the gender ambiguity that masculine women represent.

Gaining Patriarchal Privileges

The existence of a sociopolitical system that establishes the mandates of masculinity, provides patriarchal privileges to individuals who comply with these patterns. For instance, participants alluded to a continuum, in which they describe the violence they have suffered before starting their transition by being perceived as women and/or lesbian women as well as during transition (e.g., denial of gender identity), and point out how this may subside when being perceived as men.

For Daniel, this has presented itself in different areas of life, such as how his family treats him. Daniel was no longer given “small amounts of food,” but was given greater freedoms, compared to those received when identified as a woman, and those that his sister currently receives: “They no longer ask me so many questions when I go out, like who I go out with, or what time I’ll come back.” This is also present in the participant’s perception of safety in public spaces, not only on a personal level, but also relative to how much protection can offered to potential partners:

It also happened to me with the issue of being with a partner. When I was with a woman, me being a woman, they shouted at her in the street, they said stupid things [violent comments], they didn't care at all. But now, when I walk with my partner in the street, many men don’t say anything, just because there is a man with her.

This shows how sexual harassment is experienced in a different way, as Daniel perceives that trans men decrease the likelihood of women with them being victims of sexual harassment and can also “prevent” other women from being harassed in different spaces. In a similar sense, Marcos described that this also tends to occur at parties or social entertainment spaces, where he can “take care” of his friends, because “other men would get behind them and start dancing without their permission.” When this happened, girlfriends would turn to Marcos who “had to get them out of that situation.” Thus, most of the interviewees recognized that being perceived as men brings benefits. As Rogers (2019) argues, patriarchal privileges are scrutinized, while at the same time gained by trans men, who try not to abuse the power that comes with being a man in society. They are also aware that this allows them to be seen as they wish, while they can enjoy a safer and more peaceful life. As Javier describes,

When I identified myself as a woman, I could not go out at night because something could happen to me. But now I can, because now I can defend myself, because if a man sees a guy walking by and sees a girl, he will obviously go for [attacking] the woman, so I feel safer.

In this context, Dawkins (2012) argues that passing is the only concept that clearly demonstrates how relevant certain identities are for obtaining privileges in society. Even for those who do not want it, power often leads them to access certain benefits in some situations. For participants, passing and embodying a masculine image makes it possible for them to access the privileges associated with being socially recognized as a man. It is important to point out that most of the interviewees do not describe these experiences as a positive milestone, but rather there is a constant questioning of this phenomenon. In their own identity constructions, they stress how being a man is a privilege that allows them to feel safe in different spaces that were previously perceived as possible sources of violence and danger.

The Influence of Machismo in the Construction of Identity

The need to adhere to gender norms responds mostly to sociocultural pressures imposed on participants, and to “macho” socialization patterns that determine how to relate to others and to themselves. For Sergio, the way of relating to other men is permeated by various gender expectations. Sergio narrates how he is friends with three colleagues at his workplace, and he describes as being “the epitome of machismo” with a strong interest in soccer:

For them everything works within the logic of soccer; if you are part of the ‘boy’s club’ you have to know how to play soccer—it is understood that you play soccer and that you understand soccer because you are a man.

This can be a problem when trans men are unaware of activities understood to be masculine, because it increases the likelihood of exclusion from various spaces. However, even though most of the participants questioned this situation and its implications, they were not exempt from falling into it either. For several interviewees, knowing about “masculine” activities is an important characteristic of being macho, as described by Alejandro:

There are trans men who, because they are short, feel bad when they are with a… [woman], with friends, with cis men, and it's hard, because it's a social construction of a macho masculinity that sets standards that you, even if you don't want to be part of that system, you need to follow.

Thus, there are aspects conceived from a masculine perspective that could be justified to a greater extent. Javier, who mentions how he perceived that the use of pharmaceutical testosterone made him more violent. This led him to feel like a “caveman” and that he would “punch the walls just to let out the anger that was bottled up.” When delving deeper into this situation, Javier argued that gender patterns may be involved, considering that “the role of men is to be more violent.”

Analyzing this narrative, it became necessary to question how the expression of violence has been normalized in masculine contexts, in which manifestations of this type are permitted and validated as a sign of power and virility or being a “good macho man.” Adopting these behaviors becomes even more relevant when trans men feel threatened, in which case they are likely to adopt stereotypical masculine characteristics to alleviate their fear (e.g., Rogers 2019). Likewise, it is necessary to consider the interpretations of masculinity by trans men who fall back on behaviors perceived as macho and/or sexist. This can be seen in Andres’s discussion of being in relationships with women:

I have always been very masculine in everything, in the thoughts I have about how to treat women, I like to be a gentleman, to be detailed, to open the door […] I also like to be attentive, if she is cold, to cover her up, to be attentive with her.

Although such demonstrations of affection are valid, it is important to question how they perpetuate a set of macho attitudes towards women, who can be idealized as romantic objects, with a positive affective tone that elicits behaviors categorized as prosocial (Expósito, Moya and Glick 1998; Garaigordobil and Aliri 2011).

It is not only interesting to see how trans men tend to internalize the stereotyped and machista gender patterns that characterize the Latin American context (Caravaca-Morera and Padilha 2020), but also to hear their reports of having “suffered from” machismo before starting their transition. Based on their prior experiences with machismo, participants described that they would not want to fall back into this type of behavior when beginning the transition process. However, this did not seem to hold true for all of them in the end.

Bernardo describes that, at the beginning of his transition, he said to himself “I am not going to be machista.” Nevertheless, he comments that: “Once the transition began, hormonally and socially, I started to become machista,” because he felt that he had to “fit in with what it meant to be a man in society.” This caused him discomfort, as it meant falling back on attitudes with which he did not identify. However, during his identity construction as a trans man, he realized that: “Being a man and masculinity has nothing to do with machismo.” For Bernardo, a conversation with gender-fluid friend was crucial:

I talked to a guy, and he told me that people tended to confuse what it is to be a man with what it is to be macho. He said to me: ‘What do you want to be, a man or a macho?’ I told him that I identify myself as a man, and he said: ‘Ok, so don't be macho.’ And so… I learned that things are different; I am not a macho, I am a man.

The word macho in this context represents the negative attributions associated with masculinity, and which have been constructed from hegemonic patriarchal mandates, opening a new way of “being a man.” In this sense, masculinity does not belong exclusively to cisgender males. Currently in Chile, a performance has developed called “masculinity does not belong to men” in which a group of queer and non-binary people and trans men reflect on masculinity as a broad and diverse expression, which does not only belong to cis-men or machos (Fundación Teatro Mil 2021).

Conclusion

This study explores the subjective experiential process of Chilean trans men during their transition process, with special emphasis on their identity constructions, and how they were experiencing their identity as men. Initially, it was observed that hegemonic masculinity guidelines and norms can strongly influence expectations associated with the transition process, both by trans men and by their social environment. The first expectation relates to acquiring secondary masculine characteristics, with the purpose of being a man, looking like a man, and being identified by others as a man. In this context, it is interesting that, while participants alluded to an individual desire to access a medical transition process, most indicated that this desire may be mediated by the fear that others will not treat them as men if they do not perceive them physically as such.

This means that trans men must live their masculinity under the mandates of hegemonic masculinity, which determines and restricts their experiences (Connell 1995; Connell and Messerschmidt 2005). Based on descriptions provided by the interviewees, this may translate into a demand for greater physical strength, muscularity, and the abandonment of clothing and gestures conceived of as feminine. This perpetuates the reproduction of hegemonic idealizations of masculinity, and influenced some trans men in this study to perpetuate heteronormative gender norms by allowing them to distance themselves from the fear they experience in various spaces, as being perceived as men would decrease the chances of being assaulted (i.e., Abelson 2014).

Accessing medical transition process can allow trans men to gain greater respect from their environment. This would all decrease the likelihood of being harassed, and would decrease harassment towards women who accompany them, and who can be “protected” by them. In this way, acquiring masculinity characteristics of cis men considered to reinforce masculine status (Abelson 2019; Oselin and Barber 2019; Oualhaci 2020) would not only help trans men in decreasing violence, but would also allow them to gain patriarchal benefits by projecting a masculine image (Haltom 2022). This is complex, as it embodies behaviors and practices specific to hegemonic masculinity that perpetuate the dominance of men over women and other men, in addition to preserving privileges that establishes subordinate or marginalized masculinities as being inferior (Haltom 2022). Thus, even when trans men position themselves critically in the face of this reality, the gain of patriarchal benefits may mean a greater number of safe spaces and even a survival strategy, so that the rejection of such privileges may not be viable.

This passing that trans men can access, managing to go “unnoticed,” is very different for transwomen in Latin America and in Chile. Trans women are usually recognized and discriminated against on different levels. Passing determines the occupations and jobs that trans men and transwomen can access. Most trans men study and work in different jobs, without the need to disclose their gender identity. Trans women in Chile are often forced to work in the sex trade or in beauty salons. Thus, the intersectionality that occurs between class, educational level, and gender identity, although present in all groups, is more evident in the trans community given potential discrimination in the workplace, and in relation to the salaries they can receive. Consequently, for the participants of this study, social class does not necessarily represent a space of vulnerability, or at least it was not reported during the interviews, although though social class may be determined by indicators such as type of health insurance (mainly public) or the level of education.

The benefits of “passing” in these settings could be troubling, as trans men gain access to gendered privilege that has historically been used to oppress them. Therefore, when passing occurs and trans men are perceived as men, they have the ability to exert such power over others, which could perpetuate transphobia, misogyny, and homophobia toward subordinate groups (Connell 2012; Lupton 2006; Rogers 2019; Stokes 2015; Wingfield 2009). Indeed, even when most of the interviewees questioned machismo and violence, they were not exempt from falling back on such behaviors, which is relevant when considering that both hegemonic masculinity and Latin American machismo are marked by violence perpetrated by men. Particularly in the Chilean context, there is an important difference between men and women, in which the former would hold the privilege of dominating (Day 2019). Based on the interviews, this is presented as the performance of macho acts towards women, and the conception of masculinity from stereotypical gender roles. This becomes relevant when considering that the formation of masculine identity is shaped as an extremely strict process, given it is constructed from that which is not perceived as feminine (Montecino and Acuña 1996).

Despite acknowledging the above, participants want to have a different perspective on masculinities, with new views that opened spaces to question Latin American machismo. This is fundamental for raising masculinities based on non-patriarchal characteristics, feminist principles, and gender equality, which should coexist freely (Chan 2001; Kim 2004). The experience of masculine identity for trans men, and other subordinated masculinities, should not mean falling back on gender-stereotyped behaviors to be recognized as men or to gain rights and respect (Chong and Kim 2022). It is necessary to question what it is to be a man from perspectives situated in different contexts, including that of Latin America, to allow for diverse voices to be heard, not only those of trans men, but of all invisible masculinities that are not only objects of research, but also agents of change and transformation.

Footnotes

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This research was supported by the ANID [Chilean National Agency for Research and Development], Initiation FONDECYT [National Fund for Scientific and Technological Development] N°11190286.

Note

Author Biographies

Samantha Gonzalez is a psychologist. She earned her master degree in health psychology at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. Her research interests include gender and health.

Margarita Bernales is an assistant professor at the Faculty of Medicine, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. She earned her doctorate in community health at the University of Auckland, New Zealand, her master's degree in health psychology and her bachelor's degree in psychology at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. Her primary teaching and research focus on cultural competence and masculinities.

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