Everything about Machismo totally explained
Machismo is a prominently exhibited or excessive
masculinity. As an attitude, machismo ranges from a personal sense of virility to a more extreme
masculism. In many cultures, machismo is acceptable and even expected.
The trait may be seen as the product of
runaway evolution, as
Frits Staal notes,
The peacock's tail, the grotesquely enlarged claw of the male fiddler crab and the machismo of members of the human species are all exaggerated features that may cause injury to individuals that display them but attract females.
In literature
In American literature, a memorable example of machismo comes from
Tennessee Williams' character
Stanley Kowalski, the egotistical brother-in-law in
A Streetcar Named Desire. In the play (and in the motion picture), Stanley epitomises the hyper-masculine
alpha male, socially and physically dominating and imposing his will upon his wife and her sister,
Blanche Dubois. Bound up with Stanley's aggressive and occasionally
misogynist views is a strong sense of
pride and
honor which leads to his hatred of Blanche.
In the play "
A View from the Bridge" by
Arthur Miller, one of the main characters Eddie is a classic type who displays machismo. He wants to be the best out of the men who he's among and when beaten, becomes very quiet.
In Spanish
The English word "machismo" originates in an identical
Spanish word, which however has a somewhat different meaning. Spanish
machismo refers exclusively to the belief in the superiority of males over females, that's it means "
sexism" or "
male chauvinism" (along with the Spanish adjective
machista, "sexist" or "male chauvinist").
Machismo itself derives from
macho, a latin word taken from
Galician, meaning "male [animal]" or, when used metaphorically, "
masculine" or "very masculine".
Further Information
Get more info on 'Machismo'.
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