A drunk, one accused of beating women, two irresponsible fathers and two marked as rapists have come together in the best stamp of hegemonic masculinity of a free, prosperous and victorious Nicaragua.
Four emblematic men from the machista culture who not only are violent towards women but also towards men because we shouldn’t forget that ‘you’re more of a macho man’ to the extent you dominate other men. There’s a reason they’re boxers and the other, a killer dictator.
The above picture which will remain for history makes me nauseous, especially when they stand so proud, broadcast obligatorily on all national TV stations, as the best example of how to be a man, and whom, without a doubt (and with sadness) I am sure, many children will emulate.
The male chauvinist
The Nicaraguan macho man is like any ‘piece of shit macho’ in the world: possessive, aggressive, cruel, dominant, authoritarian, abusers of women and in exceptional cases even of other men.
A cruel and insensible being who hates any quality that’s associated with weakness or emotionalism because “careful!!” he could be a ‘faggot’ and God forbid he be mistaken as someone who swings both ways.
That’s why, we shouldn’t be surprised when faced with the happenings of 2018, that the armed macho men under the umbrella of the dictator’s impunity came out with such viciousness to kill and rape other men and especially those who are dissidents of that recalcitrant masculinity.
The perfect macho man
It’s the most detestable masculinity, however the most abundant in Nicaragua and worse yet, the most attractive. That’s the reason Sandinista women love self-proclaimed guerrillas, especially Daniel Ortega, who in spite of being accused of rape by his step daughter Zoilamarica Narvaez, is a ‘coveted macho man’.
But also the blue and white opposition movement. The story of the princess and the brave prince that risks his life to protect her and defend her from the tyrant is repeated in each meme, each photo, each post in which a blue and white female turns a political prisoner into her ‘crush’.
And any man who strays from the script could be nothing but a ‘fairy’. And if that fairy (as in trans or gay) stood up and fought for the country we are grateful, however he better not even think he can come and impose his ‘gender ideology’. Ignorance!!
The macho man doesn’t grow
It’s not easy being a man. Masculinity is so fragile and lethal it leaves no room for half measures. To be a macho man in this society is only possible from a position that is antagonistic and of superiority over women.
It totally upsets me, but above all it overwhelms me. I have a son, a boy, I don’t know if it’s a punishment or a blessing because of my ideological position as a feminist. But I always see this toxic masculinity and find an answer: I will educate a different type of man.
But, I repeat, it’s not easy being a man nor to educate one in a society that justifies them and absolves them. It seems like they will never quit being boys, always spoiled and their little mistakes pardoned for being victims of circumstances or of bad women.
The innocent macho man
Just like with the dictator, a poor man was aroused by an eleven-year-old girl and he couldn’t do anything else but rape her. With another boxer, it was a woman of ill repute who insinuated herself and then thought herself decent, but he was already hot and he too couldn’t do anything else but rape her.
Another champion boxer was tricked. That woman took advantage of “his fortune” and in the middle of her brazenness demanded child support for his daughter. The other, jealous, provoked him and he had nothing better to do but beat her. And one more of these is so sensible he can’t stop getting drunk and causing scandals.
And we go on justifying ours and other men, being part of that pact between macho men in which nobody says a thing. In which everyone remains silent because nobody knows when you’ll be the one sitting in the dock.
The transgressive macho man
I know men who have been able to break out of this model of masculinity. And those are the ones that need to be rescued. That man who is capable of raising his voice and saying to another: ‘Stop harassing her’, ‘Don’t be irresponsible, assume your children’, ‘To be a man doesn’t mean being violent’.
The problem is they are very few. Maybe when some see that photo they could feel shame when they detect qualities similar to those jerks in the picture and reflect upon their own masculinity…That would be a big step.
And we women, when we see the picture, to abhor those qualities of macho men in our partners and sons. And together achieve a new model of a responsible, sensible, loving, respectful, non-violent man.
I don’t know. Maybe. Today I seem positive.
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Regards,
