A Summary: Fighting back: boxing, violence and masculinity in Victor Martinez’s parrot in the oven

Summarised by Cinnamon Perkins

Based on Barbara Brinson Curiel’s "Fighting Back: Boxing, Violence, and Masculinity in Victor Martinez's Parrot in the Oven: Mi Vida", this piece explores how boxing shaped Chicano masculinity in the 1980s. Contrasting hyper-masculinity built on violence with alternative models of humility and resilience.

© Thomas Moran. All rights reserved. Used exclusively for Boxing is Love.

In the 1980s masculinity was defined as being physically stronger, in particularly for the Chicano community, a community comprised of Mexican heritage in the United States. The masculinity within the Chicano community is shaped by structural barriers, such as access and quality of education and instead used violence as a way to survive and as a measurement of success. This was then conveyed through a book titled “parrot in the oven: Mi Vida” by Victor Martinez, addressing the struggles faced within the Chicano community such as racism, violence and hegemonic masculinity.

We learn about the protagonist, Manny, growing up as a Chicano and growing into manhood. As he struggles to find his identity, he turns towards boxing, with the perception of violence and the belief that this will be the rite of passage to success and masculinity. Though Manny’s perception of boxing begins to change once he discovers that his coach is a Golden Gloves champion—a highly decorated title in the United States—his coach is a humble and modest man, the antithesis of hyper-masculinity. This discovery derails Manny’s idealised perception of hegemonic masculinity.

Later in the chapter, we meet a character called Lencho, who went to the same school as Manny. He is the epitome of hegemonic masculinity and uses boxing as a way to demonstrate and enhance masculinity through violence. Though this eventually went against him, as he lost a match and was perceived as a failure in his masculinity. As Manny watched the defeat of Lencho, he concluded that the boxing match should not have carried so much meaning and pride, as this would only inevitably end poorly.

Lencho’s club disowned him, considering him an embarrassment for his loss and his defeated hyper-masculinity. Manny removes Lencho’s gloves, symbolising solidarity while diminishing the harm of hyper-masculinity while offering respect and compassion which reflect a more modern Chicano masculinity.

The contrasting success and humbleness through the coach versus aggression and status shows how aggression has failed the Chicano community in the 1980s. However, using boxing to challenge adversarial situations through determination has been advantageous, as seen in the case of Oscar De La Hoya, who went from being a boxer to pursuing many avenues such as becoming a singer, promoter, and media personality. These opportunities might have been blocked had he followed the path of Chicano hegemonic masculinity and approached boxing only with violence and pride.