9 ways in which machismo transforms us into psychopaths.

It is seen as normal that, when relating to women, empathy is something to trade on.

When we think of the concept of "machismo", it is easy for us to imagine a man expressing clearly sexist views about the role women should have as caretakers of the home and children.

However, it has long been known that machismo is not just a set of beliefs about how relationships between women and men should be. about how relationships between men and women should be. It does not appear only by directly displaying unpopular opinions; it emerges in the way we behave and relate to each other. It is in deeds, not words.

That is why, many times, the hurtful nature of machismo is concealed; it is seen as something totally normal not because it does not cause Pain (it does) or because it is fair (it is not), but because it is difficult for us to imagine another way of relating to the female gender. It has become normal not to empathize with women, to act towards them as they do.It has become normal not to empathize with women, to act towards them as a psychopath would.

This is how machismo makes us psychopaths in front of women.

Below we will see several attitudes, practices and behaviors that, despite being a way of treating women as objects, are part of our daily lives..

1. Expecting a reward for treating a woman as a human being

Psychopaths are characterized by being able to manage any personal relationship following a cost-benefit logic. That is, virtually everything they do when they are with someone makes sense as part of a more or less concrete strategy to get something in return. a more or less concrete strategy to get something in return..

This is something that often happens nowadays in the way men try to hit it off with women. Not explicitly belittling is perceived as a competitive window to have in front of a large number of men, and that means it can be used to ask for something in return.

For example, the concept of "frienzone" is often used for emotional blackmail. is used to blackmail emotionally in this sense, overlooking that friendship is not something that should be used to buy people.

2. Forcing situations in which it costs too much to say no

Although slow, progress is being made, and as a result, more and more people are becoming clear that rape is an aberration in all cases (although it is hard to believe, this idea is relatively recent). However, actions that closely resemble this kind of imposition of will directed against women are still normalized.

One example of this has to do with "flirting" techniques commonly used by men that have in common create such a violent situation in which to say no costs a great deal.. This can consist of both blurring the boundary of personal space (with hugs that were originally intended to be brief but end up being extended) and creating such an unpleasant atmosphere that accepting any request is the easiest way out (for example, through very personal and uncomfortable questions).

The idea is to place the woman in a clear situation of inferiorityleaving it with no room to negotiate what is acceptable and what is not.

3. Pretend they do not hear or do not understand.

This practice is another of those subtle ways that are used to annul the woman.It consists of acting as if everything that happens in the dialogues with them is happening in a little theater, something that means nothing and from which we can move away to address people who do have enough intelligence to understand what is happening.

4. Acting as if every woman should give up her time to meet a man.

It is systematic: no one is surprised if while walking down the street we don't want to stop for a second to receive an advertising brochure of a new business that has opened in the area, but it is unacceptable that a woman does not want to pay attention for several minutes to give the opportunity to a man who wants to introduce himself. Just as psychopaths can approach any relationship as a puzzle in which the goal is to get what you want, in these kinds of interactions it doesn't matter what the woman's initial disposition is; it only matters what you want to end up with.

5. Blaming the woman for her feelings

The emotional sphere has always been associated with the feminine, and that means it can be interpreted as a sign of weakness. For example, women workers are often belittled by the assumption that they care more about people than cold business objectives. This happens even with female bosses.

6. Using their sexuality against them

Much of the way we have learned to conceive of female sexuality is based on a belief that is as irrational as it is harmful: if you are not a man and you want to live your sexuality, you lose rights and dignity..

In other words, the mere knowledge that a woman is not a total stranger to sexual life can be used against her, either to humiliate her or to curtail her freedom under the pretext of protecting her. under the pretext of protecting her. Any excuse is a good one to subjugate a person who is not assigned to the male gender.

7. Using their "purity" against them.

If the previous option cannot be exploited because there are no obvious signs that a woman does not fit the role of sexual object, that can also be a reason to attack her.

How? There are different strategies: from treating her as something that has no value because she is "disconnected" from her supposed function as a machine for reproducing and breeding, to pointing out that not investing time and effort in awakening men's interest detracts from its value..

8. Valuing women only for their aesthetics

This goes far beyond the tendency we have to look at people's appearance to decide what attitude we will take towards them, something we often fall into regardless of what the other person looks like. In the case of women, moreover, machismo contributes to the fact that it is the physique that describes their personality, aspirations and interests.their personality, aspirations and interests.

In other words, the woman is perceived as an animated mannequin, specifically programmed to orient her thoughts towards the field in which the mannequin works: to attract, to offer a good image, etc.

9. Blaming the victim of gender-based violence

It is still very common to hold victims of sexual harassment or rape responsible for what has happened to them.. The reason for this is that to do anything else would mean taking full responsibility for a serious social and structural problem, while ignoring it and keeping women's safety needs on the sidelines is more comfortable.