Queezy with Machismo
So everyone already knows about machismo, machista, chauvenist, or sexist behavior. However, the US faces very little of this type of action in comparison with Ecuador. It's at times unbearable, sometimes endearing, but most of the time simply interesting (however, if I were a woman my opinions about Machismo might be....er would definiltey be different).
In light of this cultural trait, I decided to take myself to an Ecuadorian play called "Pareja Abierta" that was billed to portray the story of a couple who wanted to experiment with the idea of an Open Relationship so that they could be part of the 20th century. The play got rave reviews in the papers, and it's always nice when you don't actually have to stare at a computer screen for a couple of hours. Thus I bought my tickets, not really knowing what to expect and sat down for the show.
Wow. This is awkard. Everyone is laughing at this poor unfortunate girl who is just getting dominated by her husband. Somehow I don't really find any of this very funny. I feel like my mom might have walked out.
The show basically started for a full hour portraying a sniveling girl who loved her husband, but but whose husband decided to sleep with young college girls. Rather than slapping her husband in the face the girl just tried to kill herself and the husband just kept laughing in a maniacal insane sort of way.
And the audience loved it. I have never felt so awkward in my life. Everyone was just cracking up at this poor ridiculous woman. I felt like a Westminister Dog Show Fanatic watching Amores Perros with Michael Vick. Unbelievably uncomfortable. I mean I am up for some sexist humor as much as the next guy, but when do you ask the person pummeling a dead horse with a stick to just give it a rest already.
Then I started thinking that this portrayal in the play is actually how Ecuadorians act in their relationships. No way this could be true I though to myself. How could people be so comfortable with one and a half hours of a crying sniveling defenseless woman getting ruined by her weirdo psycho laugh husband.
And that's when the woman went through her tranformation. She combed her hair, lost weight, put on a dress and some makeup, and started getting laid. And the dude freaked out, unable to handle the role reversal. The man then became the poor defenseless one, while the woman moved on.
And the Ecuadorians were quiet. Again very strange. Apparently it's not as funny when the man becomes a huge wus.
All in all the play was solid. Basically stated that Open Relationships don't work, which I wholeheartedly agree with. It's just too hard to share someone you love with other people, at least for me. I imagine that there are some people who can completely remove themself and be happy that their loved one is having relations with someone else, but I am not one of them.
However, the machismo is what really freaked me out about the play, and I learned an interesting insight that I hadn't already realized. Culture shapes humor as much as it shapes everything else, which I suppose now is pretty obvious. However, humor is not one of the first things that jumps out at you when someone says "culture." I feel like you first go through music, art, clothing, food, etc.
Which brings me to my ultimate point. Fluency is IMPOSSIBLE. I cannot even imagine ever being legitimately fluent in Spanish. I mean I understood an entire play, word for word, without problem, and the play was completley in Spanish. Fluency right?
NO WAY. I still have to understand the cultural foundations of fluency so that I laugh at the same jokes that native Spanish speakers laugh at right? I have to learn all of the speech mannnerisms that go along with just grammar and pronunciation, which allow people to identify with people from their own culture. I mean if communication is 70% body language anyway, shouldn't fluency include a conceptoin of body language and gestures also?
My head hurts. Too much thinking and GMAT test taking. Hope everyone is well.
-Kane
In light of this cultural trait, I decided to take myself to an Ecuadorian play called "Pareja Abierta" that was billed to portray the story of a couple who wanted to experiment with the idea of an Open Relationship so that they could be part of the 20th century. The play got rave reviews in the papers, and it's always nice when you don't actually have to stare at a computer screen for a couple of hours. Thus I bought my tickets, not really knowing what to expect and sat down for the show.
Wow. This is awkard. Everyone is laughing at this poor unfortunate girl who is just getting dominated by her husband. Somehow I don't really find any of this very funny. I feel like my mom might have walked out.
The show basically started for a full hour portraying a sniveling girl who loved her husband, but but whose husband decided to sleep with young college girls. Rather than slapping her husband in the face the girl just tried to kill herself and the husband just kept laughing in a maniacal insane sort of way.
And the audience loved it. I have never felt so awkward in my life. Everyone was just cracking up at this poor ridiculous woman. I felt like a Westminister Dog Show Fanatic watching Amores Perros with Michael Vick. Unbelievably uncomfortable. I mean I am up for some sexist humor as much as the next guy, but when do you ask the person pummeling a dead horse with a stick to just give it a rest already.
Then I started thinking that this portrayal in the play is actually how Ecuadorians act in their relationships. No way this could be true I though to myself. How could people be so comfortable with one and a half hours of a crying sniveling defenseless woman getting ruined by her weirdo psycho laugh husband.
And that's when the woman went through her tranformation. She combed her hair, lost weight, put on a dress and some makeup, and started getting laid. And the dude freaked out, unable to handle the role reversal. The man then became the poor defenseless one, while the woman moved on.
And the Ecuadorians were quiet. Again very strange. Apparently it's not as funny when the man becomes a huge wus.
All in all the play was solid. Basically stated that Open Relationships don't work, which I wholeheartedly agree with. It's just too hard to share someone you love with other people, at least for me. I imagine that there are some people who can completely remove themself and be happy that their loved one is having relations with someone else, but I am not one of them.
However, the machismo is what really freaked me out about the play, and I learned an interesting insight that I hadn't already realized. Culture shapes humor as much as it shapes everything else, which I suppose now is pretty obvious. However, humor is not one of the first things that jumps out at you when someone says "culture." I feel like you first go through music, art, clothing, food, etc.
Which brings me to my ultimate point. Fluency is IMPOSSIBLE. I cannot even imagine ever being legitimately fluent in Spanish. I mean I understood an entire play, word for word, without problem, and the play was completley in Spanish. Fluency right?
NO WAY. I still have to understand the cultural foundations of fluency so that I laugh at the same jokes that native Spanish speakers laugh at right? I have to learn all of the speech mannnerisms that go along with just grammar and pronunciation, which allow people to identify with people from their own culture. I mean if communication is 70% body language anyway, shouldn't fluency include a conceptoin of body language and gestures also?
My head hurts. Too much thinking and GMAT test taking. Hope everyone is well.
-Kane
posted by ecuadortraveler at 5:12 PM
2 Comments:
at least you understood the language - how dumb of m and d to go to a comedy in BA (especially one that started at 10:00 pm...!!!very interesting insight into the differences b/w language and culture
I'm currently writing a paper on machismo in Ecuador. When I was living in Quito, I saw ads for that play but I never went. I'm not the least bit surprised by your attitude, or the cultural reactions of the Ecuadorians watching around you. I witnessed machismo firsthand as well, which has prompted me to write this paper. I was wondering if you had any other tidbits/stories like that one to share about sexism, feeling out of the loop, feeling bad for women, and how you feel their culture matches up with ours.
Thanks.
James
Post a Comment
<< Home