Deviations From Latino Masculinity Are Not a Public Health Threat

Bolivian President Evo Morales recently triggered quite the international stir when he asserted that eating hormone-injected chicken causes deviations in men's ability to, well, be men. He also claimed that such a hormone-pumped diet could lead to baldness, but really, the "deviations in men being men" piece is the juicier drumstick to gnaw on.

The debate over President Morales' speech has thrived primarily in the context of global politics and gay rights. So, why bring the debate to the realm of Race in America?

As Mónica Taher (former People of Color Media Director for the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) notes, much of what appears on U.S. Spanish-language television comes from Latin America. And while some might think of the U.S. as an English-only country (yes, I'm talking to you, too, Arizona), many of us experience life — and race — transnationally, and in multiple languages.

For instance, I first heard about these comments on a Spanish-language show my father and I were watching while eating some of my mother's chicken mole, which was likely non-organic and swimming in the hormones President Morales warned against. Yet instead of turning to my mother and blaming her cooking for making me gay, I dug into people's reactions to the questionably scientific assertions.

As gay-inducing chicken news circulated, some argued that President Morales never explicitly said that chicken makes men gay, and that corporate media was unfairly targeting him. Others argued that his words are profoundly homophobic, regardless of whether they included a direct reference to homosexuality. Sadly, these comments and the resulting commotion have outshined President Morales' work, which environmental, indigenous rights and international development activists rightfully celebrate as groundbreaking.

In addressing the fact that communities are left with few alternatives other than chemically altered food, President Morales was making a critical point. Obviously, other — scientifically founded — health connections could have been avoided to sidestep the current backlash. Yet even as these comments anger lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights activists, I worry that we're missing an opportunity to have a greater domestic and transnational dialogue regarding what we consider to be non-deviant manifestations of masculinity, and for that matter, femininity.

I refuse to believe that Latina/o communities hold a monopoly on sexism, and find it irresponsible when the term "machismo" is used to define us. While Latinas/os continue to struggle with sexism, homophobia and transphobia, we are not alone in walking the long path toward creating a world where multiple manifestations and expressions of gender and sexuality exist simultaneously and in harmony. The task of expanding our constructions of masculinities is one that surpasses borders defined by geography, gender and sexual orientation. Deviations of masculinity are not a public health threat; they are an opportunity to further embody our humanity. In the end, this planet must be large enough to fit us all, whole.

Photo Credit: Daniel Zanini H.