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socialissuesblog · 4 years ago

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The word, “Machismo” in the Latin Community is defined as the sense of being ‘manly’ and is associated with the concept of a strong sense of masculine pride. There are many ways of defining the term machismo and approaches. Another approach to the term is associated with “a man’s responsibility to provide for, protect and defend his family.” Originally, the term itself has no positive or negative value and refers to a large set of cultural norms. However, in the Latin American cultures, Machismo is usually viewed as negative, where male within the Latin Community have social behavior patterns in which the male demands the respect of his children and his wife. This type of behavior can be referred to as toxic machismo.

A common stereotype or approach to this issue is that the wife of a machita is expected to serve her husband, be loyal and able to put up with her husband’s flaws and love him regardless. However, in many cultures, women are told at a very young age that they will be housewives and men providers and protectors to the family. However, this idea has been changing dramatically as women have risen up and addressed many issues. Not necessarily many women movements have been a fight against men, but to improve women’s role in society. The feminist movement refers to series of polital campaigns for reforms on issues such as domestic violent, metarinity leave, equal pay, wome’s suffrage, sexual harrasemnet and sexual violent (such as the #METOO movement), and all issues that label of feminism and feminist movements. For example, abortion has always been a very contreversl topic in many cultures. This paper is not an argument to whether abortion is right or wrong. However, many women have argued that they do not understand why men want to discuss abortion or anything to do with a women’s body, which it is a subject that is no place for a men.

After reading about all the artists provided, the only one that artists aligned with my approach was Pepón Osario. Pepón Osario is Puerto Rican artist, who uses different objects such as videos to portray political and social issues in the Latino community. One of his well known pieces is a video called, En La barberia, no se llora (no crying in the barber shop). This video installation explores the Lation masculinity. Osario describes the barber shop as a place where men go on the weekends to social gatherings. However, in the barbershop there is no crying allowed because in the Latino Community crying was a sign of being feminin which was forbidden in a place meant for only men. In the film, the men vary in age. This portrays the issues of machismo on the Latino Community. Women are also shown in the film as a way to separate the gender boundary of the barbershop. Furthermore, some also defined the term masculinity as a way to discuss how notions of masculinity have shaped their personal relationship as brothers, husbands and fathers. Lastly, masculinity can also subtlety the relationship between machismo and homophobia, violence and infidelity and ways in which popular culture, region and politics help craft the definition of masculinity.

Pepón Osario approach to masculinity is different from mine. His addresses how men in the Latin Community are pressured into acting as. Mine takes a negative view towards masculinity as a woman. However, we can both agree how in the Latin Community there is this pressure on how both genders are told to act in society.

“En La Barbería No Se Llora '' (No Crying Allowed in the Barbershop) is a 1994 mixed media installation by a famous artist named Pepón Osorio. This art is located in the Park Street Puerto Rican community of Hartford, Connecticut. The barbershop was based in part of one of his traumatic memories of a first haircut at a barbershop in Puerto Rico as a child, which illustrated the idea of Machismo in the Latin Community.

It is a functional metal and glass chandelier with plastic toys and figurines, glass crystals, and other objects. Osario worked as a social worker in New York City, which he often saw elaborate chandeliers hanging in apartment homes. The plastic palm trees, dominos, and tassels that adorn his light suggest coping mechanisms in the face of advert and migration.

LAS TWINES - Pepón Osorio, 1998

Las Twines (Spanish slang for “Twin Girls”) is confronted by the issue of racism within the Latino Community, specifically within the Puerto Rican and Nuyorican communities of the South Bronx. The figures of the two girls show that there is a difference in skin color and hair texture.

Drowned in a Glass of Water, - Pepón Osorio, 2010

Osorio’s installation is based on local communities, families and their unique narratives. In an attempt to transform personal memories into a collective narrative, Osaio visited North Adams and Williamstrom once a month for a year to engage with the local community and spend it with different families. This was inspired by an old phrase about life problems that can be seen as people sometimes feel “drowned in a glass of water.”

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socialissuesblog · 4 years ago

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Please, take a moment to read this text.

Today I want to share with you something very crucial that happened in my country.

Yesterday (May 15, 2020) in Poland a pro-life (anti-choice) activist Zuzanna Wiewiórka was honored with a medal of justice.

(”Stop hate for life defenders”)

She have been harassing a seventeen years old girl, who wanted to have an abortion due to risk of death. The teenager was seeking help online and she was found by the activist, who stalked, blackmailed and sent her pictures of aborted babies.

Moreover this is not Wiewiórka’s first action like that.

The girl refused changing her mind about abortion, but the activist was unstoppable and got information (most likely illegaly) about her child’s father and her family in order to tell them about young girl’s plans. The family locked her at home and she is apparently struggling with side effects of a failed abortion made with non-medical tools.

Zuzanna Wiewiórka also said that “Blowing up clinics offering abortions is a good way to prevent murder and killing doctors who provide abortions is crucial to stop killing innocent”.

What’s more Zuzanna’s brother Maciej Wiewiórka supports his sister. He said that “Sometimes rape is the only chance for a man to have sex”. I do not even know how to comment that I will leave you with that.

How could someone who technically took away that young girl’s life get a prize for saving a life? How is she called a hero?

I wanted to mention that anti-choice activist try to take advantage of epidemy and lockdown that makes strikes impossible. Their actions do not seem like life saving at all.

I am shaking right now. I cannot even imagine how the poor teenager must be feeling. I definitely do not want to live in a world like that.

Please share! Spread the news, we have to resist this madness.

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