My husband always teases that in America we are all Puritans. This first came up on a trip the grocery store (in America) where he noticed the entire wine and beer isle was roped off. "Why can't we go down the isle?" he asked. "Because it is Sunday," I said flatly. "Puritans," he grumbled as he walked away.The longer I am in Italy, the more I can see that he is right. When you grow up in a society where you can't even buy a bottle of wine for your Sunday lunch, you think it is normal. It wasn't until I stepped outside of my culture that I began to see just how tightly wound we Americans (in general) are. I remember the first time I saw a shirtless woman on a television advertisement in Italy, I about fell over backwards (to this day I still don't know what she was selling). Then I came across a game show in which the contestants, regular every-day people, had to take off an article of clothing everything time they lost a round. At half time, a chorus of young, skinny girls came out onto the stage and disrobed as they danced around the short, fat, old, host. It was like a game show designed for teenage boys with ADD. Needless to say, my Puritan jaw fell into my Puritan lap.
It has been almost three years since my move to Italy. Now when I see bare butts and bra less boobs in an advertisement, I am no longer shocked. In fact, I don't even give it a second thought. After being around it for so long the shock value has worn off. Maybe America could a lesson from this: by shielding these sorts of things from our children only makes them more interesting.
What brought all of this up? Recently we had our Miss Italy contest and for the past week it has been endlessly reairing on television. Though I never sat down to watch the show, I have caught bits and pieces of it while channel surfing. Every time I pass by it, the contestants are prancing around on stage in skimpy outfits or swimsuits. There was even a dance number which involved the scantly clad girls flopping down onto a giant bed together. It made me think about the year in which the Miss America competition was under fire because some people thought that the swim suit portion of the competition should be removed. Many people thought it to be degrading and sexist. If they took the swimsuits out of the Miss Italy competition, there wouldn't be much of a show left. Even at the end, when they announced the winner, the girls were standing on stage in bikinis.
Miss Romagna didn't take home the crown, but isn't she pretty?Now before I get a bunch of hate mail, understand that I am not saying one way is better than the other. This is just an culture observation comparing too-uptight-America with not-uptight-enough- Italy.
No evening gown for our Miss Italy!At the end of the day, I am not sure what I am most appalled about: the fact that the girls were half nude most of the time, the fact that the new Miss Italy is only 18 years old OR the lack of a beautifully designed tiara (that crown is ugly)!
