<P> In her essay, Stevens argues that marianismo and machismo are complements, and that one cannot exist without the other . She also states in her argument that the characteristics of the ideal woman are the same throughout the culture when she claims that "popular acceptance of a stereotype of the ideal woman (is) ubiquitous in every social class . There is near universal agreement on what a' real woman' is like and how she should act". In marianismo, it is the bad woman who enjoys premarital sex, whereas the good woman only experiences it as a marriage requirement . Marianismo dictates the day - to - day lives of Latin American women . Stevens believes that marianismo will not disappear anytime soon because Latin American women still cling to the role . </P> <P> 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 . </P> <P> 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". </P> <P> There are other criticisms of her work that accept her argument in part and others who reject the notion completely . Regardless, Stevens' work has raised issues that anthropologists and other researchers cannot ignore . </P>

Which would you identify as a proper role as prescribed by marianismo values