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Piñata Theory: On Growth and Masculinity
As a Mexican American poet, tapping into my interior meant breaking through a shell of social expectations
Stage One: Body
There’s something distinctly violent about piñatas. How they’re formed from discarded scraps into a beautiful fragility that we publicly destroy — a celebratory smashing at a young age. How they’re colorfully filled with sweets and goods to be grabbed by a hustle of hands once their insides are spilled. How, at parties, we act as both witnesses and participants in this act of playful breakage.
As a first-generation Mexican American, I grew up watching literal piñatas being bashed, and was often the kid most excited to do the actual bashing. But as I’ve grown older and developed a critical consciousness, I’ve also realized that piñatas can be metaphorical.
The “piñata theory” states that those who fall outside of any institutional status quos are more likely to be battered in invisible (and visible) ways. Whether layered with a certain skin tone, a certain citizenship status, a certain education or economic level, or a lack of social access, many of us are covered with exteriors that are more susceptible to predatory stereotypes, rigid gender expectations, or stifling limitations in our society that…
