Marianismo
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".
History of Catholic Mariology
The baroque literature on Mary experienced unforeseen growth with over 500 pages of Mariological writings during the 17th century alone. The Jesuit Francisco Suárez (1548-1617) was the first theologian, who used the thomist method on Mariology and is considered the father of systematic Mariology. Other well known contributors to baroque Mariology are Lawrence of Brindisi, Robert Bellarmine, Francis of Sales. After 1650, the Immaculate Conception is the subject of over 300 publications from Jesuit authors alone.