The construction of South Texas masculinity: masculine space, the pico de gallo and the barbeque grill

Abstract

I contend that masculinity formation in South Texas is linked to objects that have been deemed as ‘manly’. This study is significant because it examines a group in the US population that, according to census predictions, account for a large percentage of the fastest growing and largest Latino group in the United States. This autoethnography research examines how pico de gallo – a type of salsa – and the barbeque grill assist working-class Mexican American males in constructing a masculine identity known as macho. The data are based on observing 30 social events in the Rio Grande Valley. The findings reveal a pursuit for an apex status of macho through these objects and the cultural transmission of gender roles to the next generation of males. This study concludes by offering suggestions in examining how masculinity, for men of colour, might be linked to marginalisation practices within a social structure.

Keywords:

• masculinity
• gender identity
• Mexican American
• food
• machismo
• ethnography

Acknowledgements

First, I want to give thanks to my wife for her encouragement to explore this topic. I then want to give thanks to Robert Carely, Tatcho Mindiola and the blind peer reviewers for their comments and suggestions on earlier versions of this article. In assessing the final version of this article, I claim full responsibility for any remaining errors.

Notes

1. For this article, fiesta represents a social event of close friends and family to celebrate a special occasion, such as a birthday, first communion, baptism and wedding.

2. According to Bourdieu (1989), ‘this space is constructed in such a way that the closer the agents, groups or institutions which are situated within this space, the more common properties they have; and the more distant, the fewer’ (p. 16).

3. Within this community, the woman is expected to place the needs and wants of the family and the head of the household (the husband) before her own.

4. South Texas, in this article, refers to the three counties, along the Rio Grande River, separating the United States and Mexico: Cameron, Hidalgo and Starr.

5. This phrase is used to imply ‘old school’ grilling similar to how cowboys would have cooked in the open plains.

6. In the Mexican American community, the word hombresito has less to do with age and more with the emotional characteristics of the young man. For a boy, being called hombresito is a compliment; whereas for a person in his twenties or beyond, it is an insult to his manhood.

7. A Spanish slang that means from the same flesh, a brother or a very close friend.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Hilario Molina II

HILARIO MOLINA II is Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Indiana, PA, USA.