Machismo, Mariconismo, and Marianismo

This study is at the crossroads of religion, culture, gender, and sexuality. It is a fresh and provocative look at the concept of masculinity and femininity in the Hispanic world. At its core is an interdisciplinary journey into the origins of social constructs and normative traditions of men, women, and those in between. Gender identity develops through reinforced behaviors of cultural paradigms. The Latina identity is modeled after the Virgin Mary, whose gender role is validated through the cult of the virgin as marianismo. Hispanic masculinity is based on an elaborate system of behaviors, in short, machismo. The homosexual male, or maricón, threatens the self-referential masculinity concept with his subversive and voluntary rejection of male privileges, a mechanism that I label mariconismo. For the homosexual, gender becomes an individual choice outside of preassigned heteronormative patterns and social expectations. This über-model proposes fresh gender choices.