Machismo in Costa Rica: How Tradition Meets Transformation
This article is a reflection and investigation, not a judgment. It seeks to explore how machismo has evolved, how it manifests in Costa Rican culture, and how transformation is underway through education, policy, and community efforts.
What “Machismo” Really Means
In Costa Rica, machismo is more than a word. It represents a set of social expectations around masculinity: strength, emotional restraint, authority, and the role of provider. Psychologists and social researchers define it as a learned socialization of gender norms, which can manifest in behaviors that privilege men while limiting women, and sometimes men themselves.
As the Instituto Costarricense de Masculinidad, Pareja y Sexualidad (WEM) notes:
“Ser hombre está asociado a prácticas de riesgo. … El principal problema para la salud de los hombres es el propio machismo.” (WEM, n.d.)
Translation: “Being a man is associated with risky behaviors… The main problem for men’s health is machismo itself.” (secretariagenero.poder-judicial.go.cr)
Machismo is a cultural inheritance; it is not inherently malicious, but it shapes relationships, behaviors, and emotional expression in ways that often constrain both men and women. To truly understand it, we must pause and listen—not rush to judgment.
From Colonial Patios to Modern Streets: The Roots of Masculinity
The roots of machismo in Costa Rica trace back to colonial patriarchal structures, reinforced by religion, social institutions, and early education. Traditionally, men were expected to ser fuertes (be strong) and lead households, while women assumed caregiving and domestic responsibilities (la que cuida, “the one who cares”).
Costa Rican research highlights the historical persistence of these roles:
“La investigación surge para evidenciar la estrecha relación entre la construcción de las masculinidades(masculinities) y las formas de vivir y ejercer la paternidad (fatherhood).” (Fonseca‑Vindas, 2019, p. 142)
Translation: “The research arises to evidence the close relationship between the construction of masculinities and the ways of living and exercising fatherhood.” (redalyc.org)
Even in a country celebrated for peace and egalitarian ideals, these social scripts remain embedded in everyday life.
Everyday Manifestations of Machismo
Machismo can appear in subtle and overt ways:
Social pressure for men to be emotionally restrained: “los hombres no lloran” (men don’t cry).
Gendered division of domestic labor: women often shoulder invisible work at home.
Practices such as piropos (flirtatious or objectifying remarks), control over women’s mobility, and dominance in decision-making.
Public health impacts: men’s participation in risk behaviors and lower rates of seeking mental health support.
The Observatorio de Violencia notes:
“Para ellos, reconocer las actitudes machistas y decir #AquíMeBajo son el primer paso para construir masculinidades sanas (healthy masculinities).” (Observatorio de Violencia de Género, n.d.)
Translation: “For them, recognising the machista attitudes and saying #HereIStepDown are the first step to building healthy masculinities.”
Even a small gesture—like stepping down—is revolutionary in a culture layered with expectation.
Adolescents on the Edge: High School Lessons in Masculinity
In a research project at a Costa Rican high school, titled “Masculinidades y cultura de paz: una revisión desde las vivencias de un grupo de adolescentes” (Chaves Jiménez, 2018), a group of eleventh-grade students explored their own understandings of masculinidades (masculinities).
Many young men internalized patterns of masculinidad hegemónica (hegemonic masculinity): expectation of strength, silence, dominance.
The students also articulated masculinidades disidentes (dissident masculinities)—ways of being a man that step outside the traditional scripts.
“…construyendo nuevas formas de expresarse y de vivir su sexualidad de forma autónoma”
Translation: “…constructing new ways of expressing themselves and living their sexuality autonomously.” (repositorio.una.ac.cr)
The escuela (school) emerged as a crucial space where identity, expectation, and culture collide. Both formal and informal settings shape how these young men understand what it means to ser hombre (to be a man).
Reflection: Interventions aimed at adolescents can spark reflection and offer alternatives to traditional machismo scripts.
Institutional Programs: Policies That Engage Men
In the document “Acciones que transforman: insumos para el diseño de programas y políticas de promoción de masculinidades igualitarias…” (INAMU, Costa Rica), a national effort is described to engage men in reflection about their roles, gender relations, and la corresponsabilidad (co-responsibility).
“El trabajo con hombres requiere procesos de reeducación y de resocialización para que puedan reconocer tanto la forma como han sido socializados en esta cultura patriarcal…” (INAMU, 2017, p. 13) (formatos.inamu.go.cr)
Translation: “Work with men requires processes of re-education and re-socialisation so they can recognize both how they have been socialised in this patriarchal culture …”
Strategies: engage men in paternidad y relaciones de pareja (fatherhood and couple-relations) programs, encourage domestic participation, and promote emotional literacy.
Institutional approaches reposition men not as problems, but as partners in cultural transformation.
Communities on the Frontline: Masculinities in Action
An article from Radio UCR, “Masculinidades que matan” (2023), shows how municipal and community interventions reveal alternatives to machismo.
“No todas las masculinidades son malas, existen masculinidades positivas que buscan generar un cambio”
Translation: “Not all masculinities are bad; there are positive masculinities that seek to generate change.”
Examples include therapeutic groups encouraging emotional expression, municipal networks fostering fatherhood programs, and peer-led reflection workshops.
“Masculinidad es ‘la forma de enseñar a ser hombre’, ‘cómo aprendemos este rol de ser hombres’, el problema radica en que se creía que solo había una forma de serlo y hoy sabemos que no es así, hay muchas formas.” (Navarro Díaz, 2023)
Translation: “Masculinity is ‘the way of teaching to be a man’, ‘how we learn this role of being men’; the problem is that it was believed there was only one way to be, and today we know there are many ways.” (radios.ucr.ac.cr)
Community-level interventions anchor transformation in lived culture and daily practice.
Voices from Costa Rica
Brenes Calderón et al. (2023): “…iniciar un cambio de pensamiento descartando los estereotipos que dividen a los géneros…”
Fonseca‑Vindas (2019): “Evidenciar la relación entre la construcción de las masculinidades y la paternidad.”
Navarro Díaz (2023): “…la forma de enseñar a ser hombre… hay muchas formas.”
INAMU (2017): “…reeducación y resocialización para que puedan reconocer cómo han sido socializados en esta cultura patriarcal…”
Observatorio de Violencia de Género (n.d.): “…reconocer las actitudes machistas y decir #AquíMeBajo son el primer paso para construir masculinidades sanas.”
These quotes reflect both the personal and institutional dimensions of masculinity, emphasizing lived experience and the possibility of change.
Adding, Not Subtracting: The Path Forward
In Costa Rica, the narrative is clear: the goal is not to subtract machismo, but to add new possibilities—ways of being, relating, expressing, and living in equality. Schools, families, municipalities, and national programs are building infrastructure for change, while adolescents and adults actively reshape their own lives.
Transformation is additive: each reflection, conversation, and choice becomes part of a larger cultural shift.
References (APA)
Brenes Calderón, J., et al. (2023). Masculinidades alternativas en Costa Rica: experiencias de hombres. Universidad de Costa Rica. repositorio.sibdi.ucr.ac.cr
Fonseca‑Vindas, C. (2019). Cambios y continuidades de la masculinidad tradicional en Costa Rica. Revista Latinoamericana de Estudios de Masculinidades. redalyc.org
Instituto Nacional de las Mujeres (INAMU). (2017). Acciones que transforman: insumos para el diseño de programas y políticas de promoción de masculinidades igualitarias… San José, Costa Rica. formatos.inamu.go.cr
Instituto Costarricense de Masculinidad, Pareja y Sexualidad (WEM). (n.d.). Ser hombre y sus riesgos asociados.secretariagenero.poder-judicial.go.cr
Navarro Díaz, E. (2023). Masculinidades que matan. Radios UCR. radios.ucr.ac.cr
Observatorio de Violencia de Género. (n.d.). Testimonios de jóvenes sobre machismo y masculinidades sanas.observatorio.mj.go.cr