In a male culture that prides itself on being a bastion of masculine values and quixotic attitudes, being Mexican and being macho have often been considered equivalents. However, these days, what does it actually mean to be macho in Mexico? Furthermore, how do macho attitudes express themselves in the context of Mexico City, the largest concentration of human beings on earth? These are the key questions that Matthew C. Gutmann poses and sets out to answer. Correctly pointing out that the philandering macho stereotype has ignored the role fatherhood in the lives of millions of Mexican men (p. 2), Gutmann explores the lives of working-class men in Mexico City and examines their attitudes about sexuality, fatherhood, alcohol, violence, and machismo itself.
The Meanings of Macho is the product of a few months of fieldwork in Santo Domingo, a barrio located in southern Mexico City that was established in the 1970s...
