Sounds a little shocking doesn’t it?  After I read this, it hit me maybe this is the reason why Italian women (in general) seem to be so angry.  Stop!  Let me explain further before you allow your feathers to be ruffled so quickly.

This theory, of course, does not apply to every Italian woman.  I said Italian women in general.  From my personal experience and from reports of other expats, it seems to be common knowledge that Italian women (again, in general) are not the friendliest, most welcoming individuals in Italy.  I have met Italian women who are the sweetest people of anyone you would want to meet, but the majority of the women I have met or come across in daily activities have not been so nice.  In fact, some have been down right rude.  I thought this phenomenon was contained primarily to Rome since I have not experienced this behavior while in other Italian cities I’ve traveled to, but reports and stories from other expats dismiss my theory on that.  There has to be a reason for this, right?  At least I think this behavior begs to be questioned.

I thought at first the reason for the shunning and rudeness was because I am a foreigner in this country.  I am American, I am blonde, my Italian is very much less than perfect, and my husband and I almost always speak to each other in English when we are out and about.  I am a dead giveaway for a foreigner.  I gave a possible thought to the excuse that has been used since almost the beginning of time in every country…foreigners are taking over our land, our jobs, our money, our men.  Maybe this caveman thinking applies to some, but most likely not to the majority of people I’ve come into contact with.  I hope not anyway.

Another thought I had relates a little to my above thought when referring to the men of Italy.  In general (there it is again, my ‘in general’ clarification), Italian men seem to be much nicer than the women.  For example, I went to our local supermarket.  A man and a woman were standing next to each other, stocking a product on an end-of-aisle display.  I excused and asked them both about which aisle I could find a certain product.  The woman rolls her eyes at me and turns around to continue her job.  The man smiles, asks me further about the product I am looking for, walks over and asks his co-worker about the product, then escorts me to the aisle and hands the product to me.  See the difference?  Night and day.  I’m sure there are many factors which contributed to her response to me.  Maybe she was under a deadline at work to get the display completed, maybe she had a personal or family issue she was dealing with inside, maybe, maybe, maybe…the list goes on.  All I know is this is the norm I observe.  Italian men are (in general) more friendly, polite and helpful than Italian women.  Even my husband has noticed this trend and has commented about it on several occasions, so apparently it’s not me ‘just being a woman’.

But, I thought maybe since I am an American woman, I intimidate or anger Italian women.  Let’s face it, Americans do not have the best reputation for their behavior when they travel in Europe.  The stereotype is that Americans (mainly women) like to let go and have fun when they travel to and visit Italy and other European countries.  This again is, of course, a general statement and does not apply to every American tourist.  The unfortunate stereotype though is that American women like to come to Italy to have sexual experiences with sweet talking Italian men.  Because of this, many Italian men seem to be enamored with American women.  Could this be what has the women of Italy all riled up?  Although women I come into contact with in shops, cafes or on public transportation do not know this ‘grudge’ should not be applied to me, as I am a happily married woman, my husband is not Italian, I have zero interest in any Italian men and I live here, I’m not here for ‘fun’.  I am dismissed from this category (I dismiss myself), but I am fairly certain the American stereotype enters into the minds of many Italian women when they meet or come across American women.  As a side note, if you are planning to travel to Italy, please do not become a cliché and contribute further to this ridiculous stereotype Americans hold in many European countries.

Back to my ‘ah ha’ moment.  After I read Squires’ article, it got me to thinking.  Is the reason for Italian women’s overall behavior because they are unhappy with their lives more than women in other countries and are feeling oppressed?  Are they lashing out at the world because they are mad as hell?  Are women just wanting an out?  An out from marriage with a man who is no longer romantic.  An out from raising the babies they thought they wanted.  An out from being stuck inside a house cooking and cleaning all day. An out from a domestic partnership to be able to have a career since the partnership has turned out to be anything but with only one person doing the household work.  An out from a day to day, mundane life they never dreamed of.  An out to travel and experience the world.  My end thought after reading the article:  Is the constant search for an appropriate out causing women to lash out at the world?