Who coined the term "marianismo"?
2685746#4
""Marianismo"" originally referred to the devotion to Mary (). The term was first used by political scientist Evelyn Stevens in her 1973 essay ""Marianismo": The Other Face of "Machismo"". It was in direct response to the male word "machismo" and was meant to explain the phenomenon in Latin America in which women were either "saints or whores". It is the supposed ideal of true femininity that women are supposed to live up to—i.e. being modest, virtuous, and sexually abstinent until marriage—and then being faithful and subordinate to their husbands. In essence, marianismo is the female counterpart to machismo, and as such, probably originated during the time of the Spanish colonization of the Americas.
Marianismo
2685746#12
In their book "The Maria Paradox: How Latinas Can Merge Old World Traditions with New World Self-esteem" (1996, G. P. Putnam), Rosa Maria Gil and Carmen Inoa Vazquez credit Stevens with introducing the concept of marianismo, citing the "ground-breaking essay written by Evelyn P. Stevens in 1973". They also discuss use of the term by academicians such as Sally E. Romero, Julia M. Ramos-McKay, Lillian Comas-Diaz, and Luis Romero. In their book, Gil and Vazquez use it as applicable across a variety of Latino/a cultures.
Marianismo
2685746#14
Evelyn Stevens' essay was very significant to this area of study. However, since its publication, her argument has been debated by other researchers and critics. Although her argument addresses marianismo in Latin America at large, many of the sources she uses mainly focus on Mexican culture, thus severely limiting her frame of reference. Also, she is criticized for implying that, despite other differences among various socioeconomic classes, the ideal woman's characteristics are ultimately the same across social classes. Her critics claim Stevens ignores socioeconomic factors, saying "her description of women as altruistic, selfless, passive, [and] morally pure" is inadequate. There have been some responses in the literature to the concept of marianismo that assert that its model of/for women's behavior is very class-based. In other words, the idea that men do all the hard work, while women remain idle, on a pedestal, is a life that rarely exists, particularly for the peasant, poor and working class women that make up the majority of Latin America women. As Gil and Vazquez remind us, "most of her [Stevens's] data came from middle class Mexican women".
Marianismo
2685746#32
Marianismo presents a foundation for normal female behavior within Latin countries. Under Marianismo, women are expected to present behavior that shows compliance to male dominance, strong ties to morality (especially relating to the Virgin Mary), and willing to give up everything for the name of family. Like machismo, Marianismo sets up a list of rules that promotes how one needs to be when interacting with society, strongly encouraging a gap between the genders by reinforcing these beliefs in various ways throughout society. Latinos who are exposed to the constructs of Marianismo and Machismo are predisposed to behaviors normative within the Latino culture of what constitutes being a man and a woman. Expectations of behavior begin to be evident before birth with these social constructs, liberating and constricting both genders to fit inside a bubble deemed appropriate by Latino cultural values. Men are viewed as providers and decision-makers for their family, while women are to provide emotional support to their families only.
Marianismo
2685746#30
Very few studies on the role of "marianismo" in the media have been conducted. However, in more recent years, researchers are beginning to explore this cultural phenomenon. Researchers Jorge Villegas, Jennifer Lemanski and Carlos Valdez conducted a study on the portrayal of women in Mexican television commercials. Often women are portrayed as either those who adhere to the feminine ideal, and those who do not. These women are then categorized as good women and bad women, respectively. These "good women" are seen as nurturing, family-oriented, soft-spoken, even-tempered and sexually naïve, whereas the "bad women" are often the sexual targets of men. Another dichotomy presented by this study is dependent women versus independent women. The researchers found that "dependent women tended to display characteristics perceived as positive in marianismo (helpful, rewarded by their family) whereas independent women were more sexualized". A similar study by Rocío Rivadeneyra examined the gender portrayals in telenovelas. Her research found that in comparison to their male counterparts, women were seen as spending more time with children and were either homemakers or unemployed. Both studies, however, noted that women and men were portrayed with equal frequency in the media.
Marianismo
2685746#27
Some feminists criticize the concept of "marianismo", suggesting that it simply legitimizes the social conditions of women in Latin America by making it seem valid and normal. They also note that "marianismo" is often presented as everything "machismo" is not; therefore femaleness is put into “the realm of passivity, chastity, and self-sacrifice”. They argue "marianismo" suggests that if a woman has a job outside of the home, her virtues and her husband’s machismo are put into question. Women are simply an addition to the male ego; their only identity is found in being a virgin, wife, and mother.
Marianismo
2685746#13
Two researchers with experience as therapists for Latin Americans, Rosa Maria Gil and Carmen Inoa Vasquez, present the beliefs they observed many of their patients holding as ten commandments in marianismo. They argue that marianismo demands the following beliefs be held by women:“Don’t forget the place of the woman; don’t give up your traditions; don’t be an old maid, independent, or have your own opinions; don’t put your needs first; don’t wish anything but to be a housewife; don’t forget sex is to make babies, not pleasure; don’t be unhappy with your man, no matter what he does to you; don’t ask for help; don’t discuss your personal problems outside the house; and don’t change”
Marianismo
2685746#18
The concept of family is considered so important to marianismo women that those who attempt to intervene in situations of partner violence in marianismos are encouraged to view autonomy and independence as very westernized concepts, and are told to instead focus on listening and aiding women in the goals they create to avoid violence, in order to avoid alienating women. Many of the goals stated by those interviewed were, rather than leaving a relationship with an abusive husband, to stop the violence, improve relationships with their partners, help their partners learn to be more supportive husbands and fathers.
Marianismo
2685746#6
She believes that marianismo is rooted in the awe and worship of female bodies, particularly in the context of pregnancy, exemplified by early cultures. She discusses the various versions of holy Mother figures found through the world, such as Ninhursaga, Mah, Ninmah, Innana, Ishtar, Astarte, Nintu, and Aruru. In many of these goddess' myths, there are stories of the young male figure in their lifves, be it a son or lover, disappearing. The response of the goddesses is typically grief, and as she grieves the earth is barren. Stevens argues that this may be an allegory or explanation of the seasons.
Marianismo
41550104#14
Cultural society placements of patriarchal framework allowed for enslaved people to be viewed through gender roles. Just as the concept of male domination through ‘machismo’ solidified, the concept of 'marianismo' also came out through a freed woman’s position. Machismo are two sides of the same coin where the white Cuban male is supposed to express dominance in intercepting ventures within public space, marianismo embraces the notion of private space for a women’s fitting nature, such as through motherhood and honor of the householdorder to combat these divisions, white women during this time embraced submissive tools to utilize “modesty (or virtue)” 
Though gender roles predominated enslaved duties, the way in which historical narratives are viewed reveals how gender has played a role in the way in which male resistance were viewed as dominant. For instance, La Escalera was seen as fault on an enslaved woman: “As December 1843 drew to a close, an enslaved woman in the Sabanilla district named Polonia Gangá shocked her master with the information that his prized sugar property was about to be engulfed in open rebellion…But commencing the story of 1844 at the moment of Polonia’s declaration also necessarily equates a woman’s betrayal” Despite women being viewed through a negative lens outside of machismo, enslaved women played a key role in resistance. One of the most famous slave resistance leaders by female that is viewed like male machismo is Carlota from 1843 who led a rebellion in the Triunvirate plantation in Mantanzas Cuba. Although she is considered to be as one of the pioneers behind women battle in the fight against slavery, there is an incident which was portrayed and occurring in the public eye nearly a hundred years later since Pepe Antonio in addition to the other slave resistances led by menThis gendered perspective is also seen not only in rebellions, but in resistance, such as through oral histories and newspaper cutouts of female runaway slaves.
Slavery in Cuba