Machismo, Marianismo, and the Rising Toll of Femicide in Mexico.

8M march on Women’s International Day in Queretaro City, Photo by Michelle Celedon from Unsplash

On a hot May evening, Valeria Márquez would be shot to death in her Salon in Zapopan, Jalisco. All would be shown to her many followers on TikTok as she was having a normal live stream before the incident. Within hours, the clip of her death went viral and made headlines. Accusations and victim-blaming came quickly within the comments of social media posts about the incident, echoing an old but familiar remark: she must have done something to “invite” violence. The case of Valeria Márquez is an all too familiar story of Femicide in Mexico, where femicides — the gender-motivated killing of women- continue to scar communities despite promises of reform.

Behind each statistic lies a deep-rooted culture shaped by machismo and marianismo — these two gender ideals cast men as the “dominant providers” and women as “submissive caregivers”. These roles have been taught in many Mexican households, sometimes subtly, and often brutally. For many Men and Women stuck in the gendered norms, they are not just traditions but prisons.

The Numbers Behind The Violence

Officials at the Executive Secretariat of the National Public Security System (SESNSP), Mexico, had registered at least 848–852 femicides in Mexico during 2023. According to data presented by Vision of Humanity, by November 2024, the Secretariat had logged 733 more cases of femicides.

The National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI), which conducts surveys on violent deaths, has come to notice discrepancies in the classification of deaths, noting that many killings of women are written off as “homicides” rather than as femicides.

According to data by The Observatorio Ciudadano Nacional del Feminicidio (OCNF), A leading advocacy group, had emphasized that only one in four women’s killings are formally investigated as femicide; in Guanajuato, fewer than five percent are. These are not isolated acts of violence. They are a product of entrenched social norms that normalize male control over women’s bodies and lives.

A Culture of Control

The roots run deep. Machismo is more than just masculine pride; it is a cultural script that prizes and glorifies aggression and authority. Marianismo, its counterpart, idealizes women as self-sacrificing caretakers. Together, they create a framework where women are often expected to endure silence, submission, and service, even in the face of mental and physical abuse.

Sociologists describe machismo as a cultural script that pressures men to demonstrate toughness and emotional restraint, while discouraging vulnerability. Marianismo, meanwhile, casts women in roles of moral purity and quiet endurance. Researches at the Mexican Institute for Family and Population Research (IMIFAP) note that such expectations restrict women’s autonomy and make them more vulnerable to abuse, since questioning or resisting traditional roles is often stigmatized.

These frameworks also intersect with homophobia and rigid notions of masculinity. According to the National Human Rights Commission (CNDH), young men who deviate from traditional male norms — whether by being perceived as feminine or identifying as LGBTQ+ — are frequently targeted with ridicule amongst communities or often violence, further playing into the idea that “real men” must be dominant.

Policy Promises and Gaps

In December 2024, Mexico’s newly elected president, Claudia Sheinbaum, announced a sweeping package of reforms tackling gender-based violence. Measures included a National Registry of Protection Orders and the appointment of specialized femicide prosecutors across the Mexican states.

These reforms, in theory, could improve investigative consistency and bring accountability and justice. However, many observers warn that broader structural issues — especially the continued militarization of security forces — threaten to undermine any positive gain.

A report by Mie Hoejris Dahl published on Inkstick media highlighted staggering systemic failings: fewer than 3% of femicide cases are prosecuted, and only 1% lead to convictions. Human rights lawyer Melissa Ayala Garcia described how the judicial system often mishandles cases — losing files, re-victimizing survivors, and leaving cases to weaken indefinitely.

The Human Toll

Behind every femicide statistic is a family left searching for justice. According to the Red Nacional de Refugios (RNR), nearly 11,000 women and children sought out emergency shelter between September 2024 and January 2025 alone — a 17% increase compared to the previous year. The rise came even as federal funding for shelters was cut by 4%, leaving many safe houses overstretched and under-sourced.

Many activists say these shelters are lifelines in a country where impunity prevails. This leaves survivors and their families to feel trapped and failed by the system that was made to protect them, and can often re-traumatize them through neglect and bureaucratic delay.

For many families, public remembrance becomes an act of resistance. The collective “Las Nombramos Bordando” Travels city to city, embroidering the names of femicide victims on quilts. Each stitch is both a memorial and a warning: that women’s lives cannot be reduced to the missing case files or forgotten numbers. Similar movements have erected “antimonumentas” — purple steel memorials in Mexico City and Guadalajara — as permanent reminders that justice has yet to be delivered.

However, even activists themselves are at risk. In October 2024 and later April 2025, the disappearance and murder of Sandra Domínguez, a feminist lawyer and defender of Indigenous women’s rights in Oaxaca, Shocked civil society. Her death underscored what many had already feared: even those who fight may become victims of what they fight for.

A Generational Reckoning — and Why It Matters

All across Mexico, younger generations are openly challenging the cultural scripts of machismo and marianismo. Students, artists, and grassroots feminist groups organize marches each March 8th, flood social media with testimonies under hashtags like # NiUnaMenos, and demand accountability from politicians who long dismissed femicides as “isolated crimes”. LGBTQ+ activists have also joined the fight, arguing that rigid gender roles harm everyone, not just women, by enforcing narrow definitions of masculinity and femininity.

This generational pushback matters because cultural change is as critical as legal reform. The Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) warns that even new laws will falter if prosecutors, judges, and police remain steeped in patriarchal attitudes. Similarly, the Observatorio Ciudadano Nacional del Feminicidio (OCNF) stresses that true progress will only come when violence against women is not seen as a private misfortune, but as a public, structural issue. Every year, hundreds of Mexican women are killed, and thousands disappear. Until the old frameworks of control can be dismantled, reforms will only remain partial measures.