David Nava
Americanization is Tough on “Macho”
What is the definition of Macho in the U.S. and how does it contrast to the view of Latin America based off what is in the article?
The American view of the Macho is of a man that is often controlling and wants his woman only at home. It represents a blood thirsty killing machine that is fearless and insensitive. The American view of the macho is that of one who diminishes the actual Latin meaning of the word Macho. In American culture and movies machos are the men that are action packed and often feel nothing. In American minds people often think “that is to macho when a man is to controlling and suppressive towards a lady. In this section the macho is described as follows, “insanely jealous, hard drinking, violent Latin male”. The author states that this is the depiction that people often have of the “Macho Man”, they perceive him as someone that is completely misinterpreted. The author states that this may have to do with the womens rights movements that tended to stereotype latin men for their often cheating and controlling ways. This image has been preserved in our media and tends to reflect on a whole culture. Yet in Latin culture, the author describes the Macho as the “Man” The one who steps up to the plate and provides for his family.
One who does not talk much but is a man of action, a man who works hard and never complains. This is true due to the way I grew up knowing a Macho. My grandfather would tell my dad “Amara te los guevos mijo y soporta mis nietos no te ages pendejo!” which translates to Tighten those nuts up and support my grandchildren son, don’t be stupid. This was what my grandfather would tell my dad when he would not help my mom much as a kid once they divorced. These memories of my grandfather bring thought of a true macho that is not scared of anything and will give it all for his family even at times if it putting his own life on the line. This image of a true macho is what I think the author was trying to preserve and to show in this writing.
Learning Outcomes
1. Students communicate effectively
During this course as a student I learned how to write reflective papers and think critically about the things that we read. We had to discuss what we learned from the readings not only that but our discussions in class brought out our verbal skills. Every class period we had to discuss the readings. What I enjoyed most is that our professor would give us important questions that as a class would discuss and answer. In the end both with the writing and discussions we would work on our communication skills and got a lot out of it as well as learned more about understanding other diverse backgrounds and perspective.
2. Students think critically and creatively
Thinking critically was one of the most important outcomes from this course. We learned to ask questions and answer them ourselves. By doing so in a way we were forced to think critically and be creative with the questions that we would ask in our writings. This was important to our learning and brought our knowledge and understanding to a deeper level; more so than if we would have simply read the article and written a summary. Over all I enjoyed this class and it will significantly help in my understanding of others and their perspectives.
