ABSTRACT
Perhaps the most fundamental question that cuts across the various chapters of this book is whether prevailing academic and popular conceptions of masculinity and femininity are adequate for understanding the Mexican/ Latino experience. In much of the social science literature the world is typically divided into masculine and feminine spheres that correspond with superordinate and subordinate elements in society. According to this view, the masculine sphere is ambitious, assertive, rational, analytical, individualistic, competitive, dominant, and aggressive, whereas the feminine is warm, affectionate, emotional, understanding, cooperative, compassionate, sympathetic, loyal, and affectionate. I critically examine these conceptions of gender and suggest that they are inadequate explanations of Mexican/ Latino masculinity.
