Depiction of Machismo through Castillo Brothers in Oscar Hijuelos’ The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love
Abstract
The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love (1989) is a novel by Oscar Hijuelos, a Cuban-American writer. It talks about the lives of Cesar and Nestor Castillo, Cuban immigrants who live in America to pursue their dreams as musicians. The novel strongly connects to Latin American culture. The Castillo brothers are known for embracing their "Cubanness" as men. Men in Spanish-speaking countries are recognized for their masculine solid pride. Their strong masculine pride is often associated with an exaggeration of their masculinity. People often call it machismo. Machismo, derived from destructive aspects such as aggressiveness, womanizing, emotional withdrawal, and male chauvinism, is known for having harmful outcomes for men who embed it. Operating Hall's Theory of Representation and Kupers' concept of toxic masculinity, this research aims to show how the Castillo brothers represent machismo and reveal the ideology of Oscar Hijuelos' regarding machismo. This research is conducted as qualitative research, utilizing narratives and dialogues. The study found that Cesar's practice of machismo through the act of being a Latin lover affects his participation in alcoholism and resistance to professional help. Besides, Nestor's practice of machismo for being a "man with muscle" eventually leads him to depression, anxiety, and rejection of therapy. It is acknowledged their status as immigrants heighten their practices of machismo. Through his writing, the author expects to criticize machismo.
References
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———. 2020. “More Than Muscles, Money, or Machismo: Latino Men and the Stewardship of Masculinity.” Sexuality & Culture 24 (3): 967–1003. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12119-019-09674-8.
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Zamboanga, Byron L., Shannon Audley, Derek K. Iwamoto, Jessica L. Martin, and Cara C. Tomaso. 2017. “The Risks of Being ‘Manly’: Masculine Norms and Drinking Game Motives, Behaviors, and Related Consequences among Men.” Psychology of Men & Masculinity 18 (4): 280–92. https://doi.org/10.1037/men0000064.
Zohuri, Bahman, and Siamak Zadeh. 2020. “The Utility of Artificial Intelligence for Mood Analysis, Depression Detection, and Suicide Risk Management.” J. of Health Science 8 (2). https://doi.org/10.17265/2328-7136/2020.02.003.
Bornet, Marc-Antoine, Naomi Edelmann, Etienne Rochat, Jacques Cornuz, Emmanuelle Poncin, and Stéfanie Monod. 2019. “Spiritual Care Is Stagnating in General Practice: The Need to Move towards an Embedded Model.” British Journal of General Practice 69 (678): 40–41. https://doi.org/10.3399/bjgp19X700613.
Chandra, Tan Michael. 2019. “Reclaiming Cuban Cultural Identity While Living as A Cuban Diaspora in America as Depicted in Camila Cabello ‘Havana’” 3 (1).
Connell, R. W., and James W. Messerschmidt. 2005. “Hegemonic Masculinity: Rethinking the Concept.” Gender & Society 19 (6): 829–59. https://doi.org/10.1177/0891243205278639.
Copeland, Cassandra, Curtis Jolly, and Henry Thompson. n.d. “The History and Potential of Trade between Cuba and the US.” Journal of Economics and Business 2 (3): 163–74.
Frisk, Kristian. 2019. “What Makes a Hero? Theorising the Social Structuring of Heroism.” Sociology 53 (1): 87–103. https://doi.org/10.1177/0038038518764568.
González-Guarda, Rosa Maria, Brian E. McCabe, Natalie Leblanc, Joseph P. De Santis, and Elias Provencio-Vasquez. 2016. “The Contribution of Stress, Cultural Factors, and Sexual Identity on the Substance Abuse, Violence, HIV, and Depression Syndemic among Hispanic Men.” Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology 22 (4): 563–71. https://doi.org/10.1037/cdp0000077.
Hall, Stuart. 1997. Representation: Cultural Representations and Signifying Practices. Culture, Media, and Identities. London; Thousand Oaks, Calif: Sage in association with the Open University.
Hardin, Michael. 2001. “Altering Masculinities: The Spanish Conquest and the Evolution of the Latin American Machismo.” International Journal of Sexuality and Gender Studies 7 (1).
Hijuelos, Oscar. 1989. The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love. Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Horowitz, Irving Louis, and Jaime Suchlicki, eds. 2003. Cuban Communism. 11th ed. New Brunswick (U.S.A.): Transaction Publishers.
Jiang, Xinxin, and Junyang Long. 2014. “On Diasporas’ Cultural Identity in The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love.” Comparative Literature: East & West 22 (1): 31–40. https://doi.org/10.1080/25723618.2014.12015454.
Kimmel, Michael, and Tristan Bridges. 2020. “Masculinity.” Oxford Bibliographies. August 18, 2020. https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/display/document/obo-9780199756384/obo-9780199756384-0033.xml.
Kowarski, Ilana. 2021. “What a Gender Studies Degree Is, How to Use It.” U.S. News. December 10, 2021. https://www.usnews.com/education/best-graduate-schools/articles/what-gender-studies-is-and-how-to-use-the-degree.
Kupers, Terry A. 2005. “Toxic Masculinity as a Barrier to Mental Health Treatment in Prison.” Journal of Clinical Psychology 61 (6): 713–24. https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.20105.
Leiner, Marvin. 1994. Machismo, Homosexuality, and AIDS. Routledge.
Martinez, Monica. 2019. “Toxic Masculinity: An Outcome of Colonialism and Its Effects on the Latinx/Chicanx LGBTQ+ Community.” McNair Research Journal SJSU 15 (6).
Morello, Gustavo. 2019. “Why Study Religion from a Latin American Sociological Perspective? An Introduction to Religions Issue, ‘Religion in Latin America, and among Latinos Abroad.’” Religions 10 (6): 399. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel10060399.
Morin, Amy. 2022. “What Is Toxic Masculinity?” Verywell Mind. November 14, 2022. https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-toxic-masculinity-5075107.
Nay, Sherry. 2015. “The Cuban Missile Crisis: The Soviet View.” Torch Magazine [Washington], 29–32.
Nicholson, Ian. 2011. “‘Shocking’ Masculinity: Stanley Milgram, ‘Obedience to Authority,’ and the ‘Crisis of Manhood’ in Cold War America.” Isis 102 (2): 238–68. https://doi.org/10.1086/660129.
Ortiz, Fernando A. 2020. “Self-Actualization in the Latino/Hispanic Culture.” Journal of Humanistic Psychology 60 (3): 418–35. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022167817741785.
Pérez, Oscar Fernando Rojas, and Alejandro Morales. 2020. “Machismo.” In The Wiley Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences, edited by Bernardo J. Carducci, Christopher S. Nave, Jeffrey S. Mio, and Ronald E. Riggio, 1st ed., 243–46. Wiley. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119547181.ch305.
Perrotte, Jessica K., and Byron L. Zamboanga. 2021. “Traditional Gender Roles and Alcohol Use among Latinas/Os: A Review of the Literature.” Journal of Ethnicity in Substance Abuse 20 (1): 151–68. https://doi.org/10.1080/15332640.2019.1579142.
Ragonese, Cody, Tim Shand, and Gary Barker. 2019. Masculine Norms and Men’s Health: Making the Connections. Washington, DC: Promundo.
Walters, Andrew S., and Ivan Valenzuela. 2019. “‘To Me What’s Important Is to Give Respect. There Is No Respect in Cheating’: Masculinity and Monogamy in Latino Men.” Sexuality & Culture 23 (4): 1025–53. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12119-019-09615-5.
———. 2020. “More Than Muscles, Money, or Machismo: Latino Men and the Stewardship of Masculinity.” Sexuality & Culture 24 (3): 967–1003. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12119-019-09674-8.
Watson, Stephanie. 2023. “What Is Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria?” WebMD. May 2, 2023. https://www.webmd.com/add-adhd/rejection-sensitive-dysphoria.
WebMD Editorial Contributors. 2022. “Signs of a Womanizer.” WebMD. December 13, 2022. https://www.webmd.com/sex-relationships/signs-womanizer.
Zamboanga, Byron L., Shannon Audley, Derek K. Iwamoto, Jessica L. Martin, and Cara C. Tomaso. 2017. “The Risks of Being ‘Manly’: Masculine Norms and Drinking Game Motives, Behaviors, and Related Consequences among Men.” Psychology of Men & Masculinity 18 (4): 280–92. https://doi.org/10.1037/men0000064.
Zohuri, Bahman, and Siamak Zadeh. 2020. “The Utility of Artificial Intelligence for Mood Analysis, Depression Detection, and Suicide Risk Management.” J. of Health Science 8 (2). https://doi.org/10.17265/2328-7136/2020.02.003.
Published
2024-01-31
How to Cite
SUPIASTUTIK, Supiastutik; RAKHMAN, Septania Alya; ANAM, Syamsul.
Depiction of Machismo through Castillo Brothers in Oscar Hijuelos’ The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love.
Journal of Feminism and Gender Studies, [S.l.], v. 4, n. 1, p. 62-74, jan. 2024.
ISSN 2775-8737.
Available at: <https://jurnal.unej.ac.id/index.php/FGS/article/view/46266>. Date accessed: 02 may 2024.
doi: https://doi.org/10.19184/jfgs.v4i1.46266.
Section
Articles
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