Except that in Latino culture, Macho actually has a lot of positive connotations.
"Traditionally, the word macho carried many positive associations. To be macho was to be well-respected, embodying traits such as courage, valor, honor, sincerity, pride, humility, and responsibility. Since language usage has a political context, it is unfair to discuss the definition of macho in contemporary U.S. society without acknowledging the colonial exploitation and cultural domination of Latin America by early European and later U.S. imperial powers that characterize an important part of the past five hundred years in the history of the Western hemisphere.
Thus, when English-speaking Americans use the term macho, they should be aware that some see the negative connotation as further evidence of the ongoing effects of the Anglo conquest of Latino cultures in the southern part of the hemisphere. While some would argue that the true meaning of the word macho has been lost, it is important to remember that there is no such thing as the true meaning of words—only ways they evolve in particular cultural-historical contexts. In any case, the term paradox in the book’s title was intended to address any concerns that use of the word macho might contribute to the perpetuation of a negative cultural stereotype of Latinos. A key definition of paradox is “exhibiting inexplicable or contradictory aspects.” By using the term paradox, I mean to coin a phrase that expresses both the negative and positive definitions of the word macho and appropriately conveys the word’s contradictory meanings and rich history."
Katz, Jackson. The Macho Paradox . Sourcebooks. Kindle Edition.
And, as I've already noted to you repeatedly, the visual of a box serves to evoke how constricting these norms are. If you'd stop focusing on how you imagine that term maligns men (it doesn't), and instead focus on how aptly it describes the ways that these norms constrain and constrict men's freedom to be who they truly are, you might be able to get off this renaming kick. It's worked for 30+ years of researchers and other men involved in the work of remaking manhood to be less constraining and restrictive, and you insisting that it needs to change is not going to impact that in any way. How about you get on the horse the way that it is going?
Edit: In addition, one of the properties of these norms is that they include “policing” any guy who doesn’t uphold them back into the Box of acceptable behaviors and beliefs. Naturally, not every man allows himself to be policed in that way, but it doesn’t mean that they don’t still experience that kind of pressure, and often repercussions for that — something that many of the Equimundo study participants noted. They might not be adhering to the norms, but they still experienced pressure to do so, and backlash when they didn’t, at least from some quarters.
How are you going to police someone back into an axis? How is that aspect of the dynamic going to be conveyed with that visual?
