Machismo y Salud.

What an interesting topic and relation, one that I had never thought to consider before. Now that I’m here in Nicaragua, I understand the hate and frustration of machismo my friend had when she studied abroad and spent a summer in Central and South America. Some countries are better than others. According to another FSD intern who’s working in a domestic violence and women’s rights organization, Nicaragua is the #1 country for catcalling, and femicide is still very much a problem here. What is femicide? Femicide is when a woman is murdered and her gender was a principal motive for the crime. Femicide would include a husband killing his wife, a woman being killed after or during a rape crime, and there are unfortunately many other examples of femicide.

Has machismo affected the what I approach my internship and service? Yeah, it has. I’m looking for machismo more, and I understand it more than I did before. More than I did during and after the conversations with my aforementioned friend. And more than I did after the class and readings we had about it during my LASR158 class (Introduction to Latin American Studies). I’m living in it. Experiencing it every time I walk to and from work, to and from el super (the supermarket). I understand a little more now because I encounter it.

I hear it within the catcalls and “morenita” and “negrita” and “lady” and “Addioos” and “tsst tsst.”

I see it in the lurking, leering, and loitering.

I feel it when I feel unsafe walking past some men (older and younger), when I walk a little faster, when I take a longer route or cross the street prematurely to avoid potential “hotspots” or “trouble zones.”

The FSD intern working in the domestic violence and women’s rights organization came up with un juegito (a little game). Everytime you pass by a man, take a guess if they’ll catcall or make you feel uncomfortable. She also showed me her phone wallpaper that she recently applied.

To put it succinctly: We’ve been having a hard time dealing with the machismo.
I also consider machismo more in the context of my developing cervical cancer education and screening promotion project for my internship and the health center. I believe it will affect the project, but most importantly I know machismo affects these women of Nicaragua. I’m here with them and for them, so it now and will forever affect me as well.

As a tangible approach to action, I’ve been told that there’s nothing I can do about machismo. And I agree. There’s nothing I can do in my 5 weeks left here with such a large, heavy, overbearing, and insidious culture of oppression, power, and dominance. I agree to that and to that alone. I think there is something to be done about machismo, but it’s bigger than me. Thankfully, women organizations, like the one my FSD intern friend is working with, and women centers are actively working against this culture and to support all women (because truly all women are affected by it indirectly and directly).

In my last post, I also mentioned la vergüenza as a barrier to cervical cancer control here in Nicaragua. Knowing about this subtle attitude of vergüenza, that machismo fosters, helps as well for my future actions and coordination during my time here. I can be more mindful that this is where the women are. This is what they feel. Not only do I respect it, but I understand it from my own medical and health experiences.

I agree with Nurse M when she always reminds the women that come through her clinic: Nuestra salud es nuestra prioridad (“Our health is our priority”). We can’t let machismo override women’s health and well-being.

 

Notitas (“little notes” which will serve as a P.S. or little appendix): From FSD’s pre-departure packet

  • “Young men often draw out the word “adios” as a form of catcalling women”
  • “To get one another’s attention, people make a “tst-tst” sound with their tongue”