British Expatriate Network

Explanations, deconstructions and insight welcomed below.

I voted for the US. The men (and a big generalisation here) seem over-compensate in their "manly" and "rugged" attitudes.

This whole thing about re-inforcing your masculinity through the buying of huge fuck-off SUVs and their obessesion with guns - what's with that? Do you have to go buy and shoot big weapons because
a. Yours isn't big enough and/or
b. it doesn't shoot straight?

The homophobia over here is, frankly, scary. Another threat to some-one's masculinity?

Does anyone remember an ad (I think it was by Ford and didn't run very long with a small sports care with the caption "For anyone who wants to prove he's a man" and then a minivan with 4 kids and mum and dad in the front and the caption, "For those who already have"? I liked that.

Now, don't get me wrong there is a place for masculinity in the world, and I've worked in the last all-male preserve left, nuclear subamrines, for 122 years, but here in the US it's just gone completely bonkers.

End of rant.

edited for (another) typo

I think it's pretty equal but they just all manifest themselves in different ways depending on the laws and customs of the country.

True, in the USA there are lots of great big pick up trucks and vehicles jacked up off the ground that indicate strength. Lots of guns and people like to hunt and kill stuff. They also like to wave flags and rant about killing terrorists. Another big macho thing here is the whole big thing about doing work around the house or outside using power tools.

On the other hand, in the UK, machismo seems to be displayed more in the attending of football matches, chanting and spoiling for a rumble on saturday night at the kebab van, after 10 pints. There's less of that here. Sport seems to be less tribal, more of a family affair and people don't drink so much. Spicy food certainly isn't anywhere near as spicy as the stuff we get on our fair isle. I was asked last night, in a mexican restaurant if I wanted to try their atomic sauce. I ate it all neat and it wasn't even that spicy. Not that I think I'm hard or anything but the conception ot "hot" here is not the same.

I don't know much about Canada but I'd guess that their machismo is demonstrated through the cutting down of trees, playing ice hockey and going out on a trawler in a storm and coming back all brawny and ragged.

Horses for courses.

Well I think (upon triangulation wink ) it's the US, what sludgemariner said really, the guns, the enormous cars and being the most powerful country in the world also helps on the self-satisfaction level too.
I have to say also, that the american male, well those who haven't given in to the cheap crappy fast food all you can eat culture, really do look after themselves and look good on it.

Thing is though, they can't cook for toffee and I haven't seen many helping round the house even when there are two wage earners. wink Plus, they like nancy sports D And they can't take their beer.....

Cool can i get some of that long life givin nector ?:) :) :) :)

Okay, it felt like 122 years, but it was just 12

They can't make proper beer either....

IM A LUMBERJACK AND IM OKAY .
I SLEEP AL NIGHT AND I WORK ALL DAY .

hes a lumberjack and he's okay
he sleeps all night and works all day .(cont )

I CUT DOWN TREEES
I SKIP AND JUMP.
I LIKE TO PRESS WILD FLOWERS
I PUT ON WOMENS CLOTHING .
AND HANG AROUND IN BARS ......... very macho :D :D :D :D


Courtesy monty python :)

When you take cities into account, I don't think you will find much difference between US/UK/Canada.

It's only when you go into small towns that you find more macho men.

John
At least Canadians weren't upset at the Monty Python skit. Thats one thing I think you will find. Canadians are more like people in the UK when it comes to humour.

Define machismo. I don't like the Webster's definition, and I'm not paying to see what OED says. It is difficult to compare the contries when we do not have a solid definition of what it is to be macho? I would argue that the standard is set differently for each country, and even within parts of the same country.

For example, you have a much more 'laddish' culture in Britain - which now seems to cross traditional class boundaries (Harry wearing a Swasticker being a point in case). The idea that being a man is holding your drink, having a wicked sense of humour and being popular (particullarly, though not exclusively with the ladies) seems to hold true for most Brits.

The Northeastern and Metropolitan United States is probably most similar to the UK in this regard. However a mans' professional life is a bigger part of the equation this side of the Atlantic (perhaps substituting for humour) - how much money does he earn? How many people does he manage? How many BMWs does he own? All of this seems to reflect on the North American sense of manhood.

Then there is the South (and probably Mid-West) where manliness takes on a whole new twist. This mostly Conservative population would perhaps measure their machismo with the number of rifles they own or the biggest fish they have caught - this seems to trump any examples of professional success.

As to the Canadians, I really have very little experience to draw from. But based on what they pride in their culture I imagine that they are mixture of the UK and Northeastern America (now there's a surprise!). They appear to value sense-of-humour higher than the Americans, but professional success more than the Brits.

So with such an uneven set of expectations, how can we begin to compare each culture's measure of machismo without having our own biases on what it means to be macho?

I agree there humour is the same :D

okay this might be off subject, but it ties into the whole manly thing. 40% or so of American households keep a loaded gun in their nightstand to shoot people who drop in for a coffee in the middle of the night or who want to steal your limited edition Lord Of The Rings Chess set. The chances of shooting an intruder are at least 1 in a million, it might be more, as much as 7 in a million!! The chances of shooting someone in your own household (more than likely yourself while you are attempting to clean the gun, that gets so much use) is 20 x that. So are Americans matcho...or are they just stupid...hmmmm.

Or maybe it's just in case Yogi drops in for dinner so they can arm bears.

I agree with much of what Beng said. American cultures are diverse (the concept of culture/s being the shared system of beliefs, behaviors, symbols and material objects through which people/societies give meaning to their lives), therefore I believe male machismo manifests differently from State to State and within each State, depending upon the culture/s that exist therein. The same could also be said of the UK, although to a lesser degree.
I have limited experience regarding Canadian male machismo, gleaned from living in Alberta for a year. My experiences there lead me to believe that Canadian machismo is on a par with its British counterpart. However, I believe that machismo would manifest differently, dependant upon the culture/s of a particular Province.

My conclusion is that machismo is exhibited equally, but differently, in each of these countries, and is dependant upon the culture/s that exists therein.