Is machismo real?

Yes, it is real. Although it does not exist in a vacuum. It is one man showing off for others.

I also sort of meant it as a mental thing. Not necessarily as a mental condition, but a little more pronounced than just showing off for the guys…does that make sense?

most people i’ve met are frail, insecure creatures, i guess the 24/7 tough guys all live in TV land. Basically a lot of movie machismo is an absurd caricature.

Amongst needle dick pissants it’s rife. A true man like myself is of course in touch with his feminine side. Wow these satin knickers are playing havoc with me ballsack ;¬}

Of course it’s real – I see cancer patients of many cultures and backgrounds and I guarantee you that socialized machismo of many cultures prevent my male patients from truly getting health care and treatment they deserve – they simply can not buy into ‘being a patient in need’. Not only that but machismo is exaggerated when men are in groups aka it is easier for them to verbally harass me on the street if they perceive that that’s a manly thing to do in front of their friends. Finally, just look at these magazines from the 50s-70s and tell me if these ideas are dead yet…cause they ain’t, for many even if they are pathetic.

Unfortunately yes.

I rather think it’s a “put-on” in the sense that there are some groups of men who are terrified of being seen as less than “men”; the “definitions” of which have been perpetuated in literature, films, TV, music throughout the ages. The idea(l) of “masculinity” has always been a cultural creation, and specifically, that which is not “female”. I don’t know who devised these ideas, how they came to be accepted or whether any of these notions are based on anything biological that just got amplified somehow. I’m not a social/cultural anthropologist, though, so this is just an opinion.

I think it’s a reflection of the maturity and (in)security of the male. If he’s comfortable in his own skin, he probably will not need to project the machismo image.

@Adirondackwannabe So true. A guy truly confident in his masculinity doesn’t need to project that crap.

Nah, it’s communist propaganda ~

Now go make me a sandwich.

I’ll confess to using that when I was a kid. I’d bluff my way through on dates or at parties just because I wasn’t secure. Then I find out how well honesty and open communication works and I want to kick myself for all the opportunities I missed.

@Simone_De_Beauvoir I’m out at sea everyday, warding off savage monkeys from my dinghy. :)

Does machismo and ignorance have to go hand in hand?
I consider myself macho, but, I have no problem asking for directions when needed.

Always finding time to tip toe through the tulips.

@bob_ Communist propaganda!! I’m offended! No, just joking.
@Simone_De_Beauvoir Those were very interesting magazines. I think my favorite one was where it looked like the man was fighting off turtles. I never knew that they could be so vicious. :)

I think Chaz has a good point.A guy can be macho without going the machismo route, maybe because he’s learned how things work.

@Simone_De_Beauvoir Fear comes into play with the cancer patients some I would think.

The whole reason I asked this was because I wanted to see how common it was, to some extent. I’ve never really been around guys who had this sort of mindset.

@etignotasanimum How old are you, ballpark.

Early college age.

@rpmpseudonym @etignotasanimum Indeed, as KatawaGrey mentioned on my Facebook, ‘the lesson here is that, clearly, real men fight off cute furry creatures daily’.
@Adirondackwannabe – agreed, but response to fear is socialized to be different for men and women.

The following quotes are an example of what i hope epitomises the gulf between movie and reality:

“If it bleeds, we can kill it.” (Dutch from Predator)

“Hey Billy. Billy! The other day, I went up to my girlfriend, I said, ‘Y’know I’d like a little pussy.’ She said, ‘Me too, mine’s as big as a house!’” (Hawkins from Predator)

“Billy. Billy! The other day, I was going down on my girlfriend, I said to her, ‘Jeez you got a big pussy. Jeez you got a big pussy.’ She said, ‘Why did you say that twice?’ I said, ‘I didn’t.’” (Hawkins from Predator)

“Son of a bitch is dug in like an Alabama tick.” (Blain from Predator)

“Bunch of slack-jawed faggots around here. This stuff will make you a god damned sexual Tyrannosaurus, just like me.” (Blain from Predator)

“I ain’t got time to bleed.” (Blain from Predator)

i really don’t want to hear any of the above mentioned in real life but if someone said to me in real life that they ain’t got time to bleed, i would personally make time and bleed them real slow…. ;)

Spend some time in Latin cultures. You’ll see a lot of it. Spend some time in drug and motorcycle gangs. You’ll see a lot of it.

It’s probably not something you really want to see.

Yes, talk to some latin men and you will experience it :/

Or go to a REAL Italian pizzeria.

Latin men? Yeah, tell that to Afghan women.

@bob_ One doesn’t negate the other. No sexism is to be tolerated, not even when it’s compared to a culture of, supposedly, more sexism.

@Simone_De_Beauvoir Supposedly?

* rolls eyes *

Rolls eyes at a sandwich needing to be made.

@bob_ This isn’t the thread for it and you know it but I don’t see where men get off thinking it’s okay for them to act all stupid because out there they saw media images and read that women are being really mistreated in foreign lands. That’s all.

I have to say, that over exaggerated “macho” behavior that some men express.

I find ridiculous and un masculine. More clown like.

@Simone_De_Beauvoir I don’t see where you get that it is okay. Did I say it was? No. That’s all.

@bob_ Then please (since I clearly misread it) explain to me what you meant by your comment that began this discussion of ours.

It was said here “talk to some Latin men and you’ll experience it”, which implied (or I thought it implied) that Latin men are particularly bad at it. My point was that if we were going to rank the behaviour, one should consider what “media images out there” have shown.

@bob_ That’s the thing, though (though I get why you’d feel irked by those generalized comments/stereotypes) – there is NO reason (in my opinion) to rank behaviors..nor do I think that’s what was being done…what was being done, I think, was examples were being given as to where machismo is normally experienced by some people and people mentioned the latino community..this doesn’t mean that all latin men are sexist pigs…not even close…but it does mean that given all men out there that bother me because they perceive me as an object, it might be that latin men (in my area, Mexican men) will be more barbaric about it…my experience only, doesn’t mean much. Then again, I’ve never been to Afghanistan.

@Simone_De_Beauvoir I guess we agree on some things and disagree on others.

@bob_ Ya

‘Dillon….. you sunofabitch!’

I like nachos.