Fatherhood in the Latino Community: Unmasking the Machisto

Date of Award

Spring 2023

Document Type

Thesis

Department

Sociology

First Advisor

Rebecca Overmyer-Velazquez

Abstract

This study aims to create a raw image of Latino fathers and how factors like social class, cultural capital, gender division and masculinity might shape the realities of Latino fatherhood. A qualitative approach by conducting at-home interviews with five fathers and their spouses allowed better understanding of these fathers, where they came from, how the existing factors relate to their experience of fatherhood and how other new factors might be introduced, as well as a mother’s perspective of the father’s relations and actions. Being a father in the Latino culture is not just a matter of what social class they come from and what their job title is or how household duties are split, but it is about the values and traditions that they carry with them and practice in their own experiences of fatherhood. It’s the machismo which underlies why the fathers act as such manly men with his drive to protect their family and the Latino value of familismo which keeps them always wanting to be better and work to provide. This research opens doors for later lessons about the way cultural traditions and upbringing influence not only the way a father is, but the life he gives to his children and family due to this influence. It also brings to surface the values like machismo and familismo which can be passed down through generations in Latino culture.

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