User:Feminista del Caribe 22/Machismo

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In terms of the presence of machismo in Puerto Rican society, men were to work outside the home, manage finances, and make decisions. Women were to be subordinate to their husbands and be the homemakers. Women would often have to be dependent on men for everything. Growing up, boys are taught to adhere to the machismo code, and girls are taught the marianismo code. This practice is also followed by Puerto Rican Americans outside of the island. Nonetheless, this isn't the only aspect to Puerto Rican machismo. Machismo can be seen in various ways in Puerto Rico from the island's colonial history to the high cases of gender based violence that occurred in 2021. Because of this, new conversations about machismo are emerging principally the discussion of how can we handle it and in what ways can the next generation learn about it and the effects it has on society.

Puerto Rico's Colonial History and its Ties to Machismo (ARTICLE BODY)
When evaluating Puerto Rico’s machismo culture it's important to relate it to Puerto Rico’s colonial status at first to Spain and then to the United States. When becoming a colony of Spain, Puerto Rico gained the machismo principles Spain instilled. When Puerto Rico became a United States colony, the nation wanted to remedy the poverty Puerto Rico was in. This was done by situating poverty as the main effect of overpopulation. Thus, women’s ability to reproduce was one of the ways the United States changed Puerto Rico’s “culture of poverty”.

Machismo from Mid to Late Twentieth Century (ARTICLE BODY)
While Puerto Ricans may be motivated by the progressive movements of the mainland, they base their movements off of their unique situation in Puerto Rico. Beginning in the 1950s, overall employment rates began to fall due to the island's industrialization, while women's employment rates began to rise. Additionally, from the 1950s to 1980s, a field of white collar women emerged, furthering the rise in women's employment. However, women were not released from their homemaker duties simply because they had a job. In fact, women were now expected to contribute to the household's finances in addition to their homemaker duties. This caused a shift in what was deemed acceptable in households. Men used to be able to come and go as they pleased, as the women were dependent on them, however, after contributing to the household, acquiring more education, and being the homemaker, women became more independent.

In the 1960’s when large numbers of Puerto Ricans were moving to New York, many women were forced toward single motherhood with values that encouraged traditions like marriage, but instilled in their children the importance of independence and the ability to do better in life than their parents did. An example of this would be how mother’s encouraged children to find a good partner as opposed to just simply finding anyone to be with. They no longer tolerated poor men. This effect can be seen on the island due to how in 2016 when Puerto Rico was the only place where women made more than men, at $1.03 for every $1.

Scholars argue that examples like these by women moving toward an independent life by being a single mother proves that machismo and/or marianismo cannot be concretely defined. Rather, it depends on a person’s decision or circumstances in society rather than a belief they were taught and strictly followed.

Puerto Rico's High Number of Gender Based Violence Crimes in 2021 (ARTICLE BODY)
In 2021, gender based violence rose. So much so that Governor Pedro Pierluisi declared a state of emergency on the island due to an increase in gender based violence from 6,603 cases in 2020 to 7,876 in 2021. Out of the many cases, the murders of Andrea Ruiz Costas and Keishla Rodriguez caused the public to question how gender based violence was handled within Puerto Rico’s judicial system. Andrea Ruiz Costas filed three court cases before her murder, all of them were denied. The judicial system accepts that, like every institution it lacks in some instances. One of those factors is the judicial system’s difficult process for filling a complaint. Many times this process is difficult for the victim due the lengthy process of filling the complaint and understanding the legal implications this process entails. After the government declared a state of emergency, conversations emerged about the root of gender based violence and the need for gender perspective learning to be included in Puerto Rico's Department of Education Curriculum. On October 26 2022, the Department of Education announced a curriculum called Equity and Respect for All Human Beings which will take place every fourth Wednesday of the month during homeroom period. The program intends to encourage respect and equity but supporters for gender perspective learning clarify that it lacks in acknowledging terms involving gender equity and identity.

LGBTQ+ Tourism, Discrimination, and Violence (ARTICLE BODY)
In terms of tourism, Puerto Rico was seen as one of the best places to visit for LGBTQ tourists. However, the LGBTQ community is also a conflicting issue to the machismo culture. Puerto Rico is known for its strong Christian community, specifically Roman Catholic and Pentecostal, along with having smaller Jewish and Muslim communities. Due to changing times and influence from the United States, the LGBTQ movement has been a strong force for equality, which in Puerto Rico has not always been accepted, and even harmed in the process due to difference. One of these being the murder of Alexa Negrón Luciano, a transgender woman who in 2020 was mocked an eventually shot. Alexa's murder, classified as a hate crime, provoked a conversation about transphobia on the island. In relation to these conversations and the hope for a more inclusive Puerto Rican society, new gender neutral identifying terms are being used in Puerto Rico like substituting the vowels (a) or (o) in Spanish (many times the (a) in a word signifies a female, the (o) a male) for the letter (e) which is considered gender neutral. Nonetheless discrimination and segregation still exists within the island; where minorities may live in different regions of the island with others of color.