For Hispanics living in the United States, conversations about gender can include discussions of “machismo,” a concept that generally captures ideas, behaviors and expectations related to men and masculinity that is sometimes attributed to Spanish-speaking cultures.

A November 2023 Pew Research Center survey finds that a large majority of Latino adults in the U.S. (83%) have heard of machismo. And among those who have heard of it, 73% say machismo among Latinos is a bad thing.

Overall, 60% of all Latino adults – including those who have not heard of machismo – see it negatively.¹

For decades, conversations about machismo have taken place among Hispanics and non-Hispanics alike in American popular culture, higher education and politics.² In the 2024 U.S. presidential election, Donald Trump’s campaign was sometimes seen as displaying traits linked to machismo in an effort to appeal to men of all backgrounds.

In Latin America, conversations about machismo often focus on gender relations, including its links to toxic masculinity, sexism and gender-based violence.³ In recent years, governments across the region have launched campaigns against machismo to address some of these attitudes and behaviors.⁴

U.S. Latinos define machismo in many ways. In the survey, respondents who have heard of machismo were asked an open-ended question about what the term means to them.⁵

• 25% say machismo is the belief that men are superior to or better than women.
• 22% say it means acting with emphasized or prideful masculinity.
• 19% say it is the belief that men and women should have certain roles in society based on gender.
• 17% say it means acting dominating or aggressive.

There are substantial differences in Hispanics’ views of what machismo means by the primary language they speak and where they were born. Meanwhile, there are more modest differences by gender.

In terms of personal behavior, 22% of Latino adults familiar with the term say they act in a way they consider to be consistent with machismo. Among men, 28% say they sometimes or often act this way, and among women, 17% say they do.⁶

These findings come from Pew Research Center’s bilingual National Survey of Latinos, conducted in November 2023 among a nationally representative sample of 5,078 Latino adults.

What ‘machismo’ means to U.S. Latinos, by key demographics

Hispanics’ views on what machismo means varies significantly by the primary language they speak. This can reflect the culture and place they grew up in or remain connected to, which can influence their attitudes and views.⁷ Among Hispanic adults who have heard of the term “machismo”:

• Those who primarily speak Spanish (34%) or are bilingual in Spanish and English (29%) are more likely than primary English speakers (13%) to say machismo is the belief that men are superior to or better than women.
• English-dominant speakers (42%) are far more likely than bilingual (19%) or Spanish-dominant speakers (4%) to describe machismo as acting with emphasized or prideful masculinity.

These views mirror the diverse ways that major Spanish- and English-language sources describe machismo. For instance, the Real Academia Española’s definition emphasizes male arrogance and sexist discrimination, while Merriam-Webster’s definition emphasizes “masculine pride” and “exaggerated masculinity.”

Latinos’ views also differ by where they were born. Among those aware of “machismo”:

• Immigrants are twice as likely as the U.S. born to describe machismo as the belief in male superiority (34% vs. 16%).
• U.S.-born Latinos are roughly four times as likely to say machismo means acting with emphasized or prideful masculinity (37% vs. 9%).

Jump to more on machismo awareness among Latinos and what it means to them and how their views vary by other demographic groups.

Do U.S. Hispanics think ‘machismo’ is a good or bad thing, and do they display machismo behavior? It varies by how they define it

Most Latinos who have heard of machismo view it negatively. Yet these views vary considerably based on what it means to them. For example:

• 90% of Latinos who describe machismo as the belief that men are superior to women say it is a somewhat or very bad thing.
• 43% of those who describe machismo as acting confident, chivalrous or protective view it negatively.

Whether Hispanics say they display machismo behavior is also connected to how they describe the concept.

• 14% who describe machismo as the belief that men are superior to women say their behavior is consistent with machismo at least sometimes.
• 35% of those who describe it as acting confident, chivalrous or protective say they act this way.

Generally, those who see machismo negatively are less likely to say they act that way.⁹

Jump to more on Latinos’ views and experiences of machismo and how it varies by what it means to them.

Most Hispanic adults in the U.S. have heard of the term machismo, but the concept can mean many things. This chapter explores the different ways that Hispanic adults describe machismo.

Awareness of the term ‘machismo’

Roughly eight-in-ten Hispanic adults (83%) say they have heard of the term machismo, while 16% say they have not heard of it before.

Majorities of Latinos across most demographic subgroups are familiar with the term. Similar shares of men and women say they have heard of it (81% and 85%). However, awareness differs somewhat by other factors:

• Language: Awareness of machismo is higher among Latinos who primarily speak Spanish (89%) or are bilingual in English and Spanish (88%), compared with those who are English dominant (73%).
• Immigrant generation: 90% of Latinos who are immigrants and 84% who are second-generation Americans have heard the term – higher than the share of third-generation or higher who have (69%).
• Education: 92% of Latinos with a bachelor’s degree are familiar with the term, versus 86% with some college experience and 78% with a high school diploma or less.

What ‘machismo’ means to U.S. Latinos, in their own words

The survey asked Hispanic adults who know the term an open-ended question about what machismo means, in their own words.

‘Machismo’ and ideas about gender in society

Many respondents associate machismo with broader ideas about gender in society. A quarter of Hispanic adults who are aware of the term said machismo is the belief that men are superior to or better than women.

Some 19% said machismo is the belief that men and women should have certain roles in society based on gender. This includes 13% who specify that machismo is the belief that men’s role should be as leaders or decision makers and 6% who say machismo means women’s role should be taking care of the home or children.

“Para algunos hombres hay labores que son solo para hombres y creen que la mujer está solo para cuidar niños, y limpiar la casa,” said one immigrant woman in her late 40s.¹⁰

Additionally, 10% of responses were about men and women being treated unequally in society. One immigrant man in his early 50s described machismo as “men [being] above women in many social, political and economic matters.”

And 7% said machismo is the result of social or cultural expectations around masculinity and the pressure it puts on men and women to act certain ways.

One U.S.-born man in his mid-20s described machismo as “a social construct where men are expected to be strong, intimidating [or] stoic along with several other stereotypical traits. … Historically, there has been an expectation for Hispanic men to be masculine which has led to toxic behavior within the culture.”

‘Machismo’ and specific behaviors or characteristics

Some respondents described machismo by specific behaviors or characteristics.¹¹ About a quarter of Latino adults who have heard of machismo (22%) say it means acting with emphasized masculinity or having masculine pride, or as one immigrant man in his early 60s put it, “behaving manly or like a macho man.”¹²

Acting dominating or aggressive appeared in 17% of responses. This includes 5% who said machismo means acting violent, abusive or threatening. One U.S.-born woman in her early 20s said that machismo is “a culture where violence and sexism are deeply intertwined.”

Some 12% said machismo means acting strong, tough or unemotional. One man said machismo is the “stereotypical strong, in-command Spanish male [who] shows little softness in action or emotion” like the “strong silent type [that] was depicted in the movies” (U.S.-born, early 70s).

Additionally, 11% of Latino adults aware of machismo said the concept means acting self-important or egotistical.

A small share (6%) also described machismo as acting confident, chivalrous or protective. As one respondent put it, machismo is about being “a man other men can look up to” (U.S.-born man, early 50s).

Respondents often named several characteristics in their answer. For example, one respondent said machismo “usually refers to men who are puffing out their chests or are overbearing to their female counterparts or family. I see it as [having] a negative connotation, but I have heard it used in the chivalric context, referring to a gentlemanly action; like holding a woman’s bag or protecting a woman from another man” (U.S.-born man, mid-30s).

“Machismo” doesn’t have a single meaning among Hispanic adults who have heard of the term. However, certain groups of Hispanics are more likely to describe the concept in some ways than others. This chapter explores patterns among Hispanic adults in what machismo means to them.

By language

Machismo has its roots in the Spanish language, but the concept is prevalent in both Spanish- and English-speaking contexts. Survey findings show that views of machismo differ across Latinos’ language dominance.  

Latinos who have heard of machismo and primarily speak English are more likely than primary Spanish speakers to say machismo means:

• Acting with emphasized masculinity or having masculine pride (42% of English-dominant Latinos say this vs. 4% of Spanish-dominant Latinos)
• Acting strong, tough or unemotional (23% vs. 1%)

On the other hand, Spanish-dominant Latinos are more likely than English-dominant Latinos to say machismo is:

• The belief that men are superior to or better than women (34% of Spanish-dominant Latinos describe machismo this way vs. 13% of English-dominant Latinos)
• The belief that certain roles in society should be based on gender (24% vs. 12%)

By nativity and immigrant generation

Hispanics’ birthplace and the number of generations their family has lived in the U.S. are also linked to their views of machismo. For instance, among those who have heard of “machismo,” immigrants are twice as likely as U.S.-born Hispanics to say machismo is the belief that men are superior to women (34% vs. 16%).¹³

Among the U.S. born, there are also differences by generation: 20% of second-generation Latinos – those with at least one immigrant parent – define machismo this way, while 10% of Latinos with two U.S.-born parents do.

By spouse or partner ethnicity

Hispanics who are married to or living with a Hispanic partner hold different views about machismo than those with a non-Hispanic spouse or partner.

For example, among Hispanic adults aware of the concept, those with a Hispanic partner are more likely than those with a non-Hispanic partner to describe machismo as the belief that men and women should have gender-based roles (25% vs. 12%). This pattern appears among both men and women:

• Among Hispanic men, 23% with a Hispanic partner say machismo is the belief that roles in society should be based on gender, versus 7% with a non-Hispanic partner.
• Among Hispanic women, 27% with a Hispanic partner describe machismo this way, versus 16% with a non-Hispanic partner.

By gender

There are only modest differences in how Hispanic men and women who have heard of machismo describe the concept:

• Hispanic men are more likely than Hispanic women to say machismo means emphasized or prideful masculinity (26% vs. 18%).
• Meanwhile, Hispanic women are more likely to say machismo is the belief that men and women should have gender-based roles (23% vs. 16%) or that it means acting dominating or aggressive (20% vs. 13%).

When describing machismo in other ways, however, Hispanic men and women are closely aligned. For example, similar shares say machismo means acting strong, tough or unemotional (13% of men and 11% of women).

By political party

Latinos across political parties define machismo in similar ways. For example, 17% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents say machismo means acting dominating or aggressive, as do 15% of Republicans and Republican leaners.

For more details on how other groups of Latinos describe machismo, including by age and education, refer to the appendix.

How Latinos describe machismo is linked to their views on whether it is a good or bad thing and whether they say they behave in a way that is consistent with it. In general, Hispanics who have a negative perception of machismo are less likely to say they act in a way they consider consistent with the term.  

Most Latinos who have heard of ‘machismo’ view it as a bad thing

Nearly three-in-four Latinos (73%) who have heard of machismo say it is a very or somewhat bad thing among Latinos. Meanwhile, 7% say it is a very or somewhat good thing and 18% say it is neither.

By Latinos’ descriptions of ‘machismo’

Nine-in-ten Latinos who view the term machismo as the belief that men are superior to or better than women say it is a very or somewhat bad thing. Equal shares of those who describe machismo as acting in a dominating or aggressive way (88%) – or as the belief that men and women should have certain roles in society based on their gender (88%) – say it is a bad thing.

Smaller shares of those who describe it in other ways say machismo is bad thing among Latinos:

• 61% who define machismo as acting strong, tough or unemotional say it is a bad thing.
• 53% who define machismo as acting with emphasized or prideful masculinity say it is a bad thing. And about a third who define it this way (32%) say it is neither a good nor bad thing.

Roughly four-in-ten Latinos who define machismo as acting confident, chivalrous or protective (43%) see it negatively, while 23% see it positively. About one-third say it is neither positive nor negative (31%).  

By gender

Overall, 79% of Hispanic women and 66% of Hispanic men who have heard of machismo say it is a bad thing.

While how Hispanics view machismo is generally linked to how they define it, there are some differences by gender among those who describe it the same way:¹⁴

• 63% of Hispanic women who define machismo as acting with emphasized or prideful masculinity say it is a very or somewhat bad thing.
• A smaller share of Hispanic men who define it the same way (46%) say this.

About 1 in 5 Latinos aware of ‘machismo’ say they behave in a way consistent with it

Roughly one-in-five Latino adults (22%) who have heard of machismo say they act in a way that personifies the term. This includes 16% who say they sometimes act this way and 6% who say they extremely or very often do.

By Latinos’ descriptions of ‘machismo’

Whether Latinos say they display machismo behavior is linked to how they define the concept. Among Latinos who define machismo as acting confident, chivalrous or protective, 35% say they often or sometimes act in a way that can be considered consistent with machismo. And 30% who define it as acting with emphasized or prideful masculinity say they act this way at least sometimes.

Meanwhile, Latinos who describe machismo in other ways are less likely to say they often or sometimes act in a way that represents machismo.

• 16% who define it as acting dominating or aggressive say they behave in a way that is representative of machismo.
• 14% who define it as the belief that men are superior to or better than women say they act in a way representative of machismo.

By gender

Among those who are aware of the term machismo, Hispanic men (28%) are more likely than Hispanic women (17%) to say they act in a way that personifies the term. The shares who say they act this way still differ among men and women who agree on what the term means.

• Hispanic men who define machismo as acting with emphasized or prideful masculinity are much more likely than Hispanic women who define it this way to say they exhibit machismo behavior (45% vs. 10%).
• Hispanic men who describe machismo as acting strong, tough or unemotional are more likely than Hispanic women who use this definition to say their behavior at least sometimes exemplifies machismo (39% vs. 20%).  

Meanwhile, similar shares of Hispanic men and women who define machismo as the belief that men are superior to women say they act in a way that is consistent with the term.

(While machismo is often associated with men, both men and women can display machismo behavior.)

For more details on Hispanics’ views of and experiences with machismo, including by age and political party, refer to the appendix.

This report was written by Carolyne Im, research analyst; Luis Noe-Bustamante, research associate; and Mark Hugo Lopez, director, race and ethnicity research.

Editorial guidance on the report was provided by Sahana Mukherjee, associate director, race and ethnicity research; Juliana Horowitz, associate director, social trends research; John Gramlich, associate director, short reads; Jens Manuel Krogstad, senior writer/editor; Claudia Deane, executive vice president; and Neha Sahgal, vice president, research.

The open-end analysis was conducted by Im, Noe-Bustamante, and Gracie Martinez, research assistant. Editorial and methodological guidance on the open-end analysis was provided by Lopez; Mukherjee; Horowitz; Kiana Cox, senior researcher; Sono Shah, associate director, Data Labs; Samuel Bestvater, computational social scientist; Galen Stocking, senior computational social scientist; Brian Broderick, former senior data engineer; and Aaron Smith, director, Data Labs.

Methodological guidance was provided by Courtney Kennedy, vice president, methods and innovation; Dorene Asare-Marfo, senior panel manager; and Dana Popky, associate panel manager. Guidance on the communications strategy and outreach was provided by Tanya Arditi, senior communications manager, with support from Andrew Grant, communications associate, and Rachel Drian, associate director, communications.

The report was number-checked by Research Assistants Alexandra Cahn and Martinez. Sara Atske, digital producer, produced the report. David Kent, senior copy editor, copy edited the report. Charts were designed by Im and Noe-Bustamante, with guidance from John Carlo Mandapat, information graphics designer.

Find related reports online at https://alpha.pewresearch.org/pewresearch-org/topic/race-ethnicity/racial-ethnic-groups/hispanics-latinos/.

The American Trends Panel survey methodology

Overview

The American Trends Panel (ATP), created by Pew Research Center, is a nationally representative panel of randomly selected U.S. adults. Panelists participate via self-administered web surveys. Panelists who do not have internet access at home are provided with a tablet and wireless internet connection. Interviews are conducted in both English and Spanish. The panel is being managed by Ipsos.

Data in this report is drawn from ATP Wave 138, conducted from Nov. 6 to Nov. 19, 2023, among a sample of U.S. adults who identify as Hispanic. A total of 5,078 panelists responded out of 8,720 who were sampled, for a response rate of 61% (AAPOR RR3). This included 1,524 respondents from the ATP and an additional 3,554 from Ipsos’ KnowledgePanel (KP). The cumulative response rate accounting for nonresponse to the recruitment surveys and attrition is 1%. The break-off rate among panelists who logged on to the survey and completed at least one item is 3%. The margin of sampling error for the full sample of 5,078 respondents is plus or minus 2.0 percentage points.

Panel recruitment

The ATP was created in 2014, with the first cohort of panelists invited to join the panel at the end of a large, national, landline and cellphone random-digit-dial survey that was conducted in both English and Spanish. Two additional recruitments were conducted using the same method in 2015 and 2017, respectively. Across these three surveys, a total of 19,718 adults were invited to join the ATP, of whom 9,942 (50%) agreed to participate.

In August 2018, the ATP switched from telephone to address-based sampling (ABS) recruitment. A study cover letter and a pre-incentive are mailed to a stratified, random sample of households selected from the U.S. Postal Service’s Delivery Sequence File. This Postal Service file has been estimated to cover as much as 98% of the population, although some studies suggest that the coverage could be in the low 90% range.¹⁵ Within each sampled household, the adult with the next birthday is asked to participate. Other details of the ABS recruitment protocol have changed over time but are available upon request.¹⁶

We have recruited a national sample of U.S. adults to the ATP approximately once per year since 2014. In some years, the recruitment has included additional efforts (known as an “oversample”) to boost sample size with underrepresented groups. For example, Hispanic adults, Black adults and Asian adults were oversampled in 2019, 2022 and 2023, respectively.

Across the six address-based recruitments, a total of 23,862 adults were invited to join the ATP, of whom 20,917 agreed to join the panel and completed an initial profile survey. Of the 30,859 individuals who have ever joined the ATP, 11,936 remained active panelists and continued to receive survey invitations at the time this survey was conducted.

The American Trends Panel never uses breakout routers or chains that direct respondents to additional surveys.

Sample design

The overall target population for this survey was noninstitutionalized persons ages 18 and older living in the U.S., including Alaska and Hawaii who identify as Hispanic. All eligible members of the ATP and a random subsample of eligible members from Ipsos’ KnowledgePanel were invited to participate in this wave.

Questionnaire development and testing

The questionnaire was developed by Pew Research Center in consultation with Ipsos. The web program was rigorously tested on both PC and mobile devices by the Ipsos project management team and Pew Research Center researchers. The Ipsos project management team also populated test data that was analyzed in SPSS to ensure the logic and randomizations were working as intended before launching the survey.

Incentives

All ATP respondents were offered a post-paid incentive for their participation. ATP respondents could choose to receive the post-paid incentive in the form of a check or a gift code to Amazon.com or could choose to decline the incentive. Incentive amounts ranged from $5 to $20 depending on whether the respondent belongs to a part of the population that is harder or easier to reach. Differential incentive amounts were designed to increase panel survey participation among groups that traditionally have low survey response propensities.

Ipsos operates an ongoing modest incentive program for KnowledgePanel to encourage participation and create member loyalty. The incentive program includes special raffles and sweepstakes with both cash rewards and other prizes to be won. Typically, panel members are assigned no more than one survey per week. On average, panel members complete two to three surveys per month with durations of 10 to 15 minutes per survey. An additional incentive is usually provided for longer surveys. For this survey, during the last few days of data collection, KnowledgePanel members who self-identified as Black were offered 10,000 points (equivalent to $10) in addition to the regular incentive program in an attempt to boost the number of responses from panel members who identified as Black American.

Data collection protocol

The data collection field period for this survey was Nov. 6 to Nov. 19, 2023. Postcard notifications were mailed to all ATP panelists with a known residential address on Nov. 6. 

Invitations were sent out in two separate launches: soft launch and full launch. Sixty ATP panelists and 409 KP panelists were included in the soft launch, which began with an initial invitation sent on Nov 6. The ATP panelists chosen for the initial soft launch were known responders who had completed previous ATP surveys within one day of receiving their invitation. All remaining English- and Spanish-speaking sampled panelists were included in the full launch and were sent an invitation on Nov. 7.

All panelists with an email address received an email invitation and up to four email reminders if they did not respond to the survey. All ATP panelists who consented to SMS messages received an SMS invitation and up to four SMS reminders.

Data quality checks

To ensure high-quality data, the Center’s researchers performed data quality checks to identify any respondents showing clear patterns of satisficing. This includes checking for whether respondents left questions blank at very high rates or always selected the first or last answer presented. As a result of this checking, six respondents were removed from the survey dataset prior to weighting and analysis. Another four respondents were removed from the survey dataset after providing feedback that they were not Hispanic, and therefore not eligible for the survey.

Weighting

The ATP data is weighted in a multistep process that accounts for multiple stages of sampling and nonresponse that occur at different points in the survey process. First, each panelist begins with a base weight that reflects their probability of selection for their initial recruitment survey. These weights are then rescaled and adjusted to account for changes in the design of ATP recruitment surveys from year to year. Finally, the weights are calibrated to align with the population benchmarks in the accompanying table to correct for nonresponse to recruitment surveys and panel attrition. If only a subsample of panelists was invited to participate in the wave, this weight is adjusted to account for any differential probabilities of selection.

Among the panelists who completed the survey, this weight is then calibrated again to align with the population benchmarks identified in the accompanying table and trimmed at the 1st and 99th percentiles to reduce the loss in precision stemming from variance in the weights. Sampling errors and tests of statistical significance take into account the effect of weighting.

The following table shows the unweighted sample sizes and the error attributable to sampling that would be expected at the 95% level of confidence for different groups in the survey.

Sample sizes and sampling errors for other subgroups are available upon request. In addition to sampling error, one should bear in mind that question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of opinion polls.

Dispositions and response rates