Machismo does not always manifest itself in the same way, and that is what makes it, at times, difficult to identify. It is a pattern of behavior and thought that has been the custom and the general and hegemonic norm for centuries.
However, feminist movements and the fight for equality in general have made the questioning of certain unwritten rules that govern personal relationships increasingly stronger. That is why behaviors that were normal decades ago are no longer so normal today, given that they denigrate and harm women. The different types of machismo are easier to recognize today
Below we will review these examples of discriminatory treatment.
There is no single way to classify the different types of machismo, but this categorization will depend on the criteria we look at. From now on we will focus on 3 different criteria.
Types of machismo according to the immediate cause
It is clear that, deep down, machismo It is due to a cultural, economic and political element which causes women to start from a disadvantaged situation. However, if we analyze the sexist behavior of individual people, we can distinguish different causes:
1. For religious reasons
Many great religions contain in their sacred or reference texts an important macho aspect, if they are interpreted literally This causes some people, for example, to demand that women remain in a position of subordination to men, in a “support” role, whose only decision-making power concerns domestic matters.
2. By tradition
Beyond religious influences, there is a machismo that is expressed even through atheist or agnostic people and who It has to do with the positive value of “what has always been done” This is not actually a justification for sexist attitudes, but rather a description intended to be used as an argument.
For example, people may reject the idea that a woman does not want to be a mother because traditionally women have tried to get married and have children.
3. Because of misogyny
It is one of the most obvious types of machismo, since it is expressed through aggressive speech against all women in general. misogynistic people They are characterized by their hatred towards women so their treatment towards them tends to be discriminatory, without needing a specific reason for it: it all depends on emotions and passions.
Normally this vision of things is based on resentment and bad personal experiences.
4. Due to ignorance
Some people fall into sexist acts largely because they have been little exposed to the point of view of many women, or they have grown up in an environment in which there has been very little ideological variety beyond traditionalism. The result is that it is difficult for them to empathize with women and recognize them as human beings with the same rights as anyone else.
According to who expresses it
The types of machismo can be classified according to the nature of the entity that expresses it.
1. Institutional machismo
It is the machismo that is formally collected in laws, codes of conduct and statutes
2. Personal machismo
It is the one that is expressed by individuals and by groups without formal structure
Depending on the degree of violence
Machismo, as a harmful element, is always something that produces some type of pain, whether physical or psychological. That is why we can distinguish between types of machismo according to their proximity to violence physical or verbal.
1. Machismo of physical confrontation
It is a pattern of behavior that leads to the aggression of women for the fact of being women. Femicides are its most palpable consequence, but not the only one.
2. Machismo legitimizing violence
It is composed of attitudes of condescension and permissiveness towards people who attack to women for the fact of being women. Of course, this attitude reinforces the impunity of sexist crimes, either by normalizing this type of aggression or by offering protection to those who commit them.
3. Paternalistic machismo
This machismo He is an overprotective type It could be interpreted as a well-intentioned attitude, but it hides a sexist undertone, as it is based on the idea that women are something that must be protected by men and, consequently, it does not take a position against the idea that women are a being. human with full rights and with the capacity to make decisions autonomously.
For example, a husband who constantly monitors his wife not only shows that he does not trust the latter’s ability to take care of herself, but also feeds a vision of the world in which the woman is a precious asset with which, consequently, can be treated as if the relationship were that of user – object or that of product – buyer.
