article
Masculinity and gender roles among Puerto Rican men: machismo on the U.S. mainland
American journal of orthopsychiatry • 68 (1) • Published In 1996 • Pages: 16-26
By: Torres, Jose B..
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
In this article, Torres argues for an appreciation of MACHISMO and against the narrow and mostly negative interpretations of Latino male behavior found in the mental health literature. In the literature, machismo is associated with self-aggrandizing, exaggerated masculinity, physical aggression, sexual promiscuity, male dominance, etc. According to Torres when one examines machismo in context of the family and community, its positive aspects become evident: A forcefulness of personality, strength of will, self-confidence, self-assertiveness, affection, caring, love, respect, and protectiveness serve family interests. Machismo is part and parcel of a system of values that includes dignity (DIGNIDAD), respect (RESPETO), and trust (CONFIANZA), the building blocks of any community. Anglo-American biases against the Latino male ethos undermines the effectiveness of therapeutic interventions and counseling in the Puerto Rican community.
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Gender status
- Ethics
- Alcoholism and drug addiction
- cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- Puerto Ricans (Mainland)
- HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
- 2002
- RegionThe area the document pertains to
- North America
- Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
- Regional, Ethnic and Diaspora Cultures
- Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
- article
- Evaluation
- Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
- Sociologist
- Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
- 4: Excellent Secondary Data
- AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
- Ian Skoggard ; 2000
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- Not Specified
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- 1959-1996
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- United States
- NotesAdditional notes
- Jose B. Torres
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 26)
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- 34039751
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Puerto Ricans--United States