Charlotte report/Macho? What the hell is that?

IMPORTANT:  If you’re coming to Charlotte, bring rain gear. I hear tell of a potential two inches of rain on Wednesday and Thursday…

We’ve had fun with our non-poetry events so far — got in Monday, goofed around at a music store, ate dinner and sacked out early; spent Tuesday as stock car tourists, driving around to various NASCAR speed shops/race museums and the Lowe’s Speedway. Today we drop off the car and get to the host hotel to check in for the rest of the week, probably going out to a good dinner at night, but skipping the Last Chance Slam.

Looking forward to seeing everyone — especially my soon to be upstairs neighbor, Mighty Mike McGee!

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johnnylexicon has an interesting discussion going on over on his LJ about who the most macho poets are in slam right now.  I showed up on nerak_g ‘s list, which I find a little strange (not in a bad way, Karen; no offense meant by this)…

I suppose I can see a certain residual, superficial machismo in my public presentation…the knife, the leather jacket, the NASCAR fandom…but I kinda feel like although a LOT of my poetry touches on issues regarding male gender concerns, I’ve spent a lot of time distancing myself from a really poisonous machismo that I was intimately involved in for a long time when I was younger.  My father was and is a "macho" guy; ex-military/POW, that whole "warrior" thing he drilled into me at a young age down to teaching me various hand-to hand combat stuff and knifefighting tricks; the whole "suck it up and get on with it" thing; the stuffing down of feelings.  All that.  And of course, there’s more I don’t talk about publicly…

But honestly…what the hell does "macho" mean any more?  Is it those things I’ve listed above?  Is it the immediately obvious representation of a traditional, stereotyped masculinity?   If so, what is expected of a "macho man" in this day and age that could be considered worthwhile?

When I think of relatively positive representations of "machismo" in current popular culture I think of someone like Jethro Gibbs, the character Mark Harmon plays on "NCIS."  But he’s such an oversized character that it’s hard to see him as anything more than a cartoon — a decent cartoon, mind you, and one I enjoy watching most of the time; but he’s not real — too perfect too often.

What does it mean to be "macho" these days?How should we define "machismo," especially if, as Christian suggests in his post, we need more of it?  If there are positive aspects to machismo, are they limited to men?  Is there some reason women can’t be "macho?"  If a woman is "macho," is it still "machismo" we’re seeing?  (All questions designed to provoke thought, folks.  That’s all.)

All this to say the following:  I don’t think I’m macho.  And I really don’t want to be, at least not in the way I have always understood the concept.