History, Latin America

International Encyclopedia of Men and Masculinities

Whether true or not, Latin America has often been considered a region steeped in machismo. Latin American masculinity comes from a long history that begins with indigenous warrior culture, proceeds through the culture of honour imported from Europe, and includes nationalist glorification of male heroes.

Although Latin American cultures were shaped on a base indigenous culture, not much has been written about masculinity among the original inhabitants except for the Aztecs. Among the Aztecs, masculinity was very much associated with being a warrior. It was especially connected to successfully capturing other warriors for sacrifice, which allowed advancement within society and up to the noble classes. War was chronic in Aztec society and always present in the culture.

Midwives welcomed Aztec boys into the world with a war cry and presented them with toy weapons. Young boys shouted the name of the male baby in the streets in a way reminiscent of a victory.

Clearly a large part of their identity as men was defined from birth as associated with war. There were also physical markers reserved for boys that prepared them for their roles as men. Shortly after birth, all boys had their lips pierced in preparation for taking a warrior’s lip plug. At the warrior festival of Toxcatl, priests slashed all boys, even infants, on their stomachs, chests and arms in order to demonstrate their dedication to the Aztecs’ principal god. Male hair also changed according to age and warrior status. As boys began their military training, they grew a longer strand of hair that was removed upon taking a prisoner. Men who failed to take a captive in war after many campaigns were humiliated by having their hair shaved off the crown of their head. After this ritual shaming, they would only be allowed base employment.

As adults, Aztec men engaged in.........

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