"Macho"

I am surprised to have read another article in About Language that I completely disagree with in back to back weeks. Castillo Guilbault's "Americanization is Tough on 'Macho'" indicates that macho in Spanish means admiration and respect for another person. However, Americans apparently have distorted the word to the point that it means something completely different. I wish I knew when this was written, because in these present days I have not met one person, American or foreign, who believes that macho means something else that big, physical brute strength. Of all my time in France and other countries, they always express the word by shrugging their shoulders up high acting really big and tough. I also have Spanish friends. Therefore, that is also why I have trouble agreeing with how she viewed the Spanish definition of macho.
When I think of the word macho, I think of the world's strongest man competitions or just a really big, jacked guy. I do not think of it describing someone's work ethic or their personality unlike Guilbault does. Macho is defined in the dictionary as assertive or aggressive manliness, having or characterized by qualities considered manly, or an assertively virile, dominating, or domineering male. All of these definitions are about a man and nothing about being hard-working or responsible. I looked up macho in a Spanish dictionary and it also contradicts Guilbault's view on the word. In Spanish it seems more demeaning to men because one of the examples is a man is macho if he beats his wife and daughters. It also says that it means a tough guy. This is why i can not agree with Guilbault in anyway. Most people in the United States believe macho means a very tough guy and according to the Spanish Dictionary it means the same thing. Personally, I find it neutral and not offensive at all.