ABSTRACT
Theories about masculinities (e.g., Connell, 1995, 1996; Jackson & Salisbury, 1996; Martino, 1999) suggest that there are multiple Discourses (Gee, 1996) or ways of being and doing masculinity. Discourses of masculinity are constructed and reconstructed within social contexts such as family, school, sports, and workplaces and they change throughout history and cultures. These theories recognize that masculinities and femininities are constituted in relation to one another, and that some Discourses of being masculine hold more social status and power than others within particular social contexts (Connell, 1995, 1996; Jackson & Salisbury, 1996; Reed, 1999). Often, however, Discourses of masculinity are represented as stable and nonnegotiable. For example, machismo, a concept associated with Hispanic masculinity, has been represented as a rigid set of practices such as domination of women, aggression, confrontational behavior, and a strict division of labor in the household (Klein, 2000). Recent research (e.g., Klein, 2000) found that there are varying degrees of machismo and Hispanic men are far more complicated and diverse than the generalized concept of machismo might suggest. Still the beliefs associated with the ideals of machismo linger and serve to perpetuate rigid stereotypes about Hispanic men.
