So, you see, all those years, he knew how to cook, he just refused to do it because of the cultural expectations that he grew up with - a man's role in the family. He had grown up in a traditional environment - one that he had wanted to duplicate in his own home. To actually cook for himself was going against everything his mother and society had taught him. Men don't cook. Men don't clean.
Men work hard and provide for their families.
So there is an invisible barrier, one that men must not cross. This is what we call machismo. In our culture, we often hear this word, used around varying circumstances. Generally speaking, most women I know are turned off by it. Any self-respecting Latina shudders when she hears the word.