Marianismo
""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.
Mariology of the popes
In his encyclical on the fiftieth anniversary of the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception, Pope Leo XIII stresses Mary's role in the redemption of humanity. His mariology was greatly influenced by Thomas Aquinas, especially his view of Mary's role in the Annunciation. Leo's emphasis on the path "through Mary to Christ" has been a key direction in Roman Catholic Mariology, with Mariology viewed as inherent in Christology, and the rosary paving that path.
Pope Leo XIII (1878–1903) issued a record number of encyclicals on the rosary, instituted the Catholic custom of daily rosary prayer during the month of October, and created in 1883 the Feast of "Queen of the Holy Rosary". Leo XIII promulgated Marian devotions via eleven encyclicals on the rosary. A centennial after his death, Leo XIII is often quoted, most recently by Pope Benedict XVI and John Paul II.