Changing Men and Masculinities in Latin America

Discarding ManlyDichotomies in Latin America ∂∂∂∂ Among the most extraordinary cultural migrations is female identity.Without a doubt masculinity is modified: to be under the orders of women upsets psychic hierarchies, to not share in domestic chores is to run the risk of divorce, and to accept household democracy is no longer so arduous . . .but the great change occurs in the space of historic subjugation. -Carlos Monsiváis, aires de familiaWe need studies that concentrate on men and masculinities, on men as engendered and engendering beings in Latin America.We may not always need them, but we do in the early twenty-first century.For the authors of chapters in this volume a focus on men and masculinities represents a key element in the broader study of gender relations, identities, and inequalities throughout the Western Hemisphere.Thus the impetus for this book on men and masculinities in Latin America derives from a recognition that we know too little about men-as-men in this part of the world, a desire to extend our research on gender to include men as well as women, and a commitment to ground our exploration of men and masculinities in the Americas within an overall framework of gender/sexuality analysis.Yet Changing Men and Masculinities in Latin America is not intended to provide