Masculinity and Violence in Daniel Dalmaroni’s "Maté a un Tipo". The Argentinian and the Global

Abstract

The present essay delves into the representations of masculinity and its connection with violence. It attempts to explore the idea of violence as a component of hegemonic masculinity (a term introduced by the Australian sociologist Raewyn W. Connel, 1995) in the play Maté a un Tipo (2006) by the Argentinian playwright Daniel Dalmaroni. Through the absurd and grotesque depictions of violence that are made explicit in the text as well as the character dynamics I explore the multifaceted aspects of masculinity and its association with violence both as a man’s privilege and a social phenomenon. The analysis reveals the complexity and precariousness of masculinity as presented in Maté a un Tipo, and acknowledges that it is both shaped by local cultural norms and global representations. Given the cultural gap still existing among several societies around certain ideas and subjectivities (such as that of masculinity-ies), despite today’s globalization, Argentina seems to serve as a good bridging example due its society’s hybridity, as supported by Argentinian anthropologist Eduardo Archetti (2016). The article concludes with proposing further questioning of masculinities and cross-cultural comparisons in order for further insight to be acquired around men’s lives and identities within a global context.