Do you know these 4 types of micromachismos?

Unfortunately our society is still very far from abolishing machismo once and for all. In this sense, a useful way to fight against this scourge is to have good information. Hence knowing some types of micromachismos is useful to identify and avoid them.

However, today we still have a long way to go. The situation is so serious that even in the United States they have voted for Donald Trump, a president who went so far as to say “You know, it doesn’t matter what the media writes as long as you have a young and pretty butt next to you.”

What are micromachismos?

Before continuing to learn about the common types of micromachismos, do we know exactly what we are talking about? In this case we are going to refer to an author like Luis Bonino, who already in 2004 alluded to the term in question.

For Bonino, A micromachimo is an everyday and subtle behavior that really constitutes a control strategy that threatens the personal autonomy of one or more women.. However, they can become imperceptible and even legitimized by society.

Bonino considers that micromachismos are currently used with a dominant purpose. They hide a variable degree of violence in interpersonal behaviors to maintain the supposed dominance and superiority of men.

Thus, for many men it is necessary to reaffirm their dominance, especially with women who consider them to be rebels. In this way they seek to gain power over a woman with whom they have some type of relationship, or at least place themselves in a certain position of advantage.

Types of micromachismos

After this presentation, Bonino establishes a scale in which we find 4 types of micromachismos. In fact, some are as everyday as the waiter who hands the bill directly to the man or even the woman who tells another “behave like a lady”, since they are not exclusive to the male gender.

We are talking about frequent gestures and many of them performed unconsciously. These behaviors still prevail in the current social order. Unfortunately, the background that incites them usually goes unnoticed, which does not prevent them from remaining as a residue of the ideas that strongly prevailed in society and that we have not yet left behind.

Utilitarian micromachismos

Among the types of micromachismos, Bonino identifies four types, starting with the utilitarian. It usually has a domestic purpose that is linked to traditional feminine behavior.

In reality, this type is usually easy to identify. The man takes advantage of, abuses or demands a supposed capacity, immanent to women by virtue of being women, to serve or care. Thus, it automatically delegates certain tasks to women, such as caring for people, cleaning the home, cooking.

Furthermore, he does it in a subtle way, with a simulated implication that aims to cover appearances, and that also serves to demand “reciprocity.” I have washed the car, it is your turn to clean the house, for example.

Covert micromachismos

Bonino also identifies covert micromachismos. In this case they involve abuse of trust to hide the real objective. They are very subtle, which causes confusion, guilt and even decreased self-esteem in women.

We identify these types of micromachismos in the paternalistic behaviors, For example. It is a form of emotional manipulation based on double messages, abuses of trust, limitations, deception, disavowal, justification, etc.

Crisis micromachismos

Thirdly, Bonino talks about the micromachismos of crisis. In this case We find that when the woman increases her share of power, the man tries to be more controlling. Sometimes it shows itself in attitudes such as deceptive support, emotional distancing, denial, victimhood and even passive resistance.

Coercive micromachismos

Finally, we discover coercive micromachismos. In this case man makes use of his power, whether physical, economic or personal. In this way, she forces the woman to accept her line of reasoning, which causes her to feel incapable and defeated, since she usually cannot contrast her thesis with reality.

When man exercises this kind of micromachismo, he controls money, sabotages communication, abuses space and time, etc. Somehow This micromachismo directly attacks the perception of women’s autonomy.

These are the 4 types of micromachismos that Luis Bonino differentiates. Be that as it may, they are attitudes and behaviors that have a very negative effect on a woman’s quality of life. They limit her freedom and undermine her self-esteem. Let us not forget that it is in everyone’s hands to pull the blanket and uncover the ideas that are subtly hidden in the actions we have alluded to in the article.

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