The Untranslatable Word Macho Analysis

Rose Guilbault in "The Untranslatable Word Macho," addresses the separate meanings of the word macho. As a child, the author knew the word "macho" as a desirable personality trait. She believed her father was the ideal of the word: responsible, hard-working, strong, and honorable. However, she came to realize that modern Americans view of the word is a violent, chauvinistic and aggressive man. Rose Guilbault believed that the change started during the 1970s feminist movement. Hispanic women began to view the traditional “manly” behavior of carousing and adultery as unacceptable. As the meaning of the word "macho" changed and the contemporary meaning became the standard in English, it became a stereotype to the detriment of all Latin men. The simple differences in word meanings can show a deeper disconnect between cultures that is often difficult to discern. A disconnect between perception and reality is also apparent in the view of gender. In society, women are especially vulnerable to labels and they are shaped by the social, intellectual and domestic stereotypes placed on them. Stereotypes can be changed by addressing the differences between the stereotype and reality.
There is a word that goes with the word macho, “marianismo.” It reflects a belief in an ideal woman such as the Virgin Mary. This model woman is gentle, passive, virtuous and self-sacrificing. According to historian Barbara Welter, in the middle of the 19th century, there was a belief in the "Cult of True