Honor and Masculinity Among Latinos and European-Americans

Previous research suggests that there are pan-cultural ideals of masculinity (Williams & Best, 1982; Rodriguez Mosquera, 2011). However, research has not yet examined how honor orientation, a form of collectivism, influences which masculinity and masculine honor values are most important in honor and non-honor oriented cultures. I aimed to answer this question by comparing how European-American and Latino/U.S. Hispanic participants evaluate and respond to threats to different domains of masculinity, both general masculinity and specifically masculine honor values. In Study 1, I measured European-American and Latino(a)/U.S. Hispanic men and women’s appraisals and perceived emotional consequences of eleven masculinity/male honor threat situations. As expected, gender differences were found across cultures primarily for male honor threat situations; in response to these threats, male participants felt more shame and perceived more harm to reputation compared to their female counterparts. Study 2 narrowed its focus on European-American and Latino/U.S. Hispanic men. Four of the eleven threat situations in Study 1 were chosen, three of which were male honor threats (threat to authority over the family, sense of one’s own sexual experience, and ability to protect a close other) and one of which was a general masculinity threat (threat to sense of adventurousness). In addition to the measures used in Study 1, Study 2 included measures that assessed masculine honor orientation, gender in-group centrality, and gender in-group commonality. Analyses revealed cultural differences in the threat to authority over the family situation; Latino/U.S. Hispanic men found this threat situation more harmful to reputation and self-esteem and believed they would feel more shame and humiliation compared to European-American men. Regression analyses revealed the role that masculine honor and gender in-group centrality play in cultural differences in participants’ responses. These studies contribute to the literature on masculine honor, suggesting that there is variation in the importance of certain masculinity/male honor values across cultures.