Machismo does not always manifest itself in the same way, and that is what makes it sometimes difficult to identify. It is a pattern of behaviour and thought that has been the general and hegemonic norm for centuries.

However, the feminist and equality movements in general have made the questioning of certain unwritten rules governing personal relationships increasingly important. This is why behaviours that were normal decades ago are no longer so normal today, as they denigrate and harm women. The different types of machismo are today easier to recognise .

We will now review these examples of discriminatory treatment.

The main types of machismo

There is no single way to classify the different types of male chauvinism, but this categorization will depend on the criteria we look at. From now on we will focus on 3 different criteria.

Types of machismo according to immediate cause

It is clear that, deep down, machismo is due to a cultural, economic and political element that makes women start from a disadvantaged situation. However, if we analyze the macho behavior of individual people, we can distinguish different causes:

1. For religious reasons

Many great religions contain in their sacred or reference texts an important macho pose, if they are interpreted literally . This causes some people, for example, to demand that women remain in a position of subordination to men, in a role of “support, whose only decision-making power concerns domestic matters.

2. By tradition

Beyond religious influences, there is a machismo that is expressed even through atheistic or agnostic people and that has to do with the positive value of “what has always been done” . This, in fact, is not a justification of sexist attitudes, but a description that tries to be used as an argument.

For example, the idea that a woman does not want to be a mother can be rejected because traditionally women have tried to marry and have children.

3. By misogyny

It is one of the most evident types of machismo, since it is expressed through an aggressive discourse against all women in general. Misogynist people are characterized by their hatred towards women , so that their treatment towards them tends to be discriminatory, without a specific reason being needed: everything depends on emotions and passions.

Usually this view of things is based on resentment and bad personal experiences.

4. For lack of knowledge

Some people fall into macho acts largely because they have been little exposed to the point of view of many women , or have grown up in an environment where there has been very little ideological variety beyond traditionalism. The result is that they find it difficult to empathize with women and recognize them as human beings with the same rights as anyone else.

According to who expresses it

The types of machismo can be classified according to the nature of the entity that expresses it.

1. Institutional Machismo

It is the machismo that is formally reflected in laws, codes of conduct and statutes .

2. Personal Machismo

It is the one expressed by individuals and by groups without formal structure .

According to the degree of violence

Machismo, as a harmful element, is always something that produces some kind of pain, either physical or psychological. That is why we can distinguish between types of machismo according to their proximity to physical or verbal violence .

1. Physical confrontational machismo

It’s a pattern of behavior that leads to women being assaulted just because they are.Feminicide is its most palpable consequence, but not the only one.

2. Machismo of legitimizing violence

It is made up of attitudes of condescension and of permissiveness towards people who attack women because they are women. Of course, this attitude reinforces the impunity of macho crimes, either by normalizing this type of aggression or by offering protection to those who commit them.

3. Paternalistic Machismo

This machismo is of the overprotective type . It could be interpreted as a well-intentioned attitude, but it hides a sexist background, since it is based on the idea that women are something that must be protected by men and, therefore, it does not position itself against the idea that women are full human beings with the capacity to make decisions autonomously.

For example, a husband who constantly watches over his wife not only shows that he does not trust her ability to fend for herself, but also nurtures a view of the world in which women are a precious commodity with which they can therefore be treated as if the relationship were that of user-object or product-buyer.