“Sonya Lipsett-Rivera has written a brilliant book on a novel topic. . . . The committee found her command of primary sources masterful and her writing beautiful and accessible.”—Rocky Mountain Council for Latin American Studies
“This engaging, exhaustively researched book examines the colonial origins of a much-studied and highly stereotyped phenomenon: Mexican machismo. However, the book is much more than a search for the roots of that axiomatically assertive, violent ideology. Instead, the author complicates easy stereotypes of Mexican masculinity, finding not only multiple colonial masculinities but a general difference between colonial norms and the machismo that emerged in the nineteenth and (especially) twentieth centuries.”—Jacqueline Holler, Histoire sociale
“This terrific book is packed with detailed evidence and engaging analysis. Scholars and students of Latin American colonial history and gender theory will enjoy and benefit from it.”—Nora E. Jaffary, Hispanic American Historical Review
“Lipsett-Rivera . . . enriches the study of gender in Spanish America.”—V. H. Cummins, Choice
“ Origins of Macho carefully details the many masculinities found in colonial Mexican society. Lipsett-Rivera’s research reflects a quasi-coming-of-age story for colonial Mexico that ultimately ends with rebellious masculinity finding a home in the revolts of the independence movement as it throws off the dictates of its more restrained colonial parent. I highly recommend this excellent book!”—Jonathan Truitt, author of Sustaining the Divine in Mexico Tenochtitlan: Nahuas and Catholicism, 1523–1700
“Lipsett-Rivera’s well-written and archivally rich monograph is a must-read that sets the parameters for future investigations. The author deftly defines and explores the lives of men, providing a unique focus that challenges assumptions about heteronormative masculinities. This nuanced work is a major contribution to the field of colonial Latin American gender and sexuality studies.”—Linda A. Curcio-Nagy, author of The Great Festivals of Colonial Mexico City: Performing Power and Identity