Perception of gender stereotypes, machismo and marianismo in Ecuadorian adolescents: a focus group study

Abstract

Recent studies increasingly demonstrated that gender differences are linked with macro-cultural factors. The stereotypes in Latin America that shape gender roles are machismo and marianismo. In contrast, with the ample publications on the importance of machismo, empirical research on machismo and certainly marianismo is still in its infancy despite both being well known concepts. To this end, the present study explores how Ecuadorian adolescents from Cuenca experience, and make sense of, gender stereotypes. Twelve focus groups were carried out, involving 127 male and female adolescents. The data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Four categories related to machismo emerged: cognition regarding machismo, manifestations of machismo, adolescents’ expectations by gender, and advantages of traditional norms. The results showed that participants know about machismo and stated that gender stereotypes are transmitted to adolescents by parents and society in general to the next generations. Our participants blame gender stereotypes for the inequality in the society, but at the same time, their intervention showed that they absorbed these stereotypes in their belief system.