Marianismo
Marianismo is a Hispanic term that describes an ideal of true femininity with characteristics derived from the devotional cult of St. Mary of Guadalupe, a central figure of Roman Catholicism in Mexico.
It defines standards for the female gender role in Hispanic American folk cultures, and is strictly intertwined with machismo and Roman Catholicism.
[1] Marianismo revolves around the veneration for feminine virtues like interpersonal harmony, inner strength, self-sacrifice, family, chastity, and morality among Hispanic/Latina women.
[1][2][3] More ideals regarding the female gender role held within marianismo in Hispanic American culture include those of feminine passivity, sexual purity, and self-silencing.
[1][2][3][4] Evelyn Stevens, political scientist, states: "[I]t teaches that women are semi-divine, morally superior to and spiritually stronger than men.
[5] Stevens 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.
Before Christianity was introduced to the continent, Native Americans in the region believed the mound to be sacred to the Aztec goddess Tonantzin, or "Our Mother".
The vision Diego saw was eventually named "Our Lady of Guadalupe" and made patroness of Mexico by Pope Benedict XIV in 1756.
Although her argument addresses marianismo in Hispanic America at large, many of the sources she uses mainly focus on Mexican culture, thus severely limiting her frame of reference.
Her critics claim Stevens ignores socio-economic factors, saying "her description of women as altruistic, selfless, passive, [and] morally pure" is inadequate.
In other words, the idea that men do all the hard work, while women remain idle, on a pedestal is something that rarely exists for the lowest classes.
[11] González-López goes so far as to say:Marianismo has done damage to our understanding of gender relations and inequalities among Latin American and U.S Latina women...Now discredited, marianismo was originally an attempt to examine women's gender identities and relationships within the context of inequality, by developing a model based on a religious icon (María), the quintessential expression of submissiveness and spiritual authority.
This notion of Latin American women is grounded in a culturalist essentialism that does far more than spread misinformed ideas: it ultimately promotes gender inequality.
Both marianismo and machismo have created clichéd archetypes, fictitious and cartoonesque representations of women and men of Latin American origin.
[13] To ascribe to this belief, Hispanic women function as the source of strength of families by maintaining their overall happiness, health, and unity.
[23] Women are also expected to be passive in sexual encounters, which is linked to lower condom usage and therefore higher risk of STIs, especially HIV/AIDS.
[2][3][4][14] Adherence to this belief is linked with significantly higher rates of psychological distress, depression, and anxiety in Hispanic women and young girls.
[14][29] This pillar focuses on the perceived ability, and therefore responsibility, given to women to lead their families in spiritual growth and religious practice.
Researchers Jorge Villegas, Jennifer Lemanski and Carlos Valdez conducted a study on the portrayal of women in Mexican television commercials.
A study of commercials on Mexico's national TV found a disparity in the ways women are depicted based on whether they are dependent on another person to have their role (mothers/wives) or independent (single women/employees).
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.
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 Hispanic cultural values.
They are viewed as "exotic", implying they are secretly sexually passionate wanting to branch out from that ideology, or prefer to divulge in dangerous activities to make up for this “innocent” life they’ve been confined in, much like the archetype of the "sexy librarian".
[36] Marianismo promotes women to be self-sacrificing, leading for them to accept abuse continually and remain quiet from fear of losing their livelihood and dependency from their husbands.
[36] Studies conducted on marianismo have concluded that Hispanic women who ascribe to this particular female gender role are more likely to engage in high-risk sexual behaviors, gender-based violence, and experience negative mental health outcomes.
[1] Jane F. Collier demonstrated that access to economic opportunity is a factor in determining to what extent Hispanic women may choose to conform to traditional notions of marianismo, and to what degree they are inclined to adapt them to new circumstances.
[41] Some feminists criticize the concept of marianismo, suggesting that it simply legitimizes the social conditions of women in Hispanic America by making it seem valid and normal.
[43] Marianismo and ambivalent sexism share similar traits, including the fact that women are given respect, high status, and protection if they conform to gendered expectations.
In Andalusia, with exposure to more modern models in Spanish TV and advertising, in one generation the focus shifted from traditional norms of expected behavior with the realization that "inequalities in income and lifestyle among villagers no longer appeared to rest on inheritance, but on urban, salaried jobs people obtained.
