You have to keep yourself up to
date with what’s going on in the world, after all if I don’t keep myself up to
date with what’s going on how am I ever going to be able to do my job; how am I
ever going to be able to help people with their employment issues if I don’t
know what’s going on with employment law, or what the government’s latest
employment initiatives are. That’s why I often find myself on the BBC website.
The BBC is one of the best, least biased news sources in the world and if you
want news that’s as honest as it gets (at least in mainstream media), then the
BBC is the way to go.
When I was on there yesterday I
saw a little editorial about how the Economic downturn had affected Italian
men. Curious, I clicked on it and what I read was actually rather illuminating.
The whole article centred around how Italian men who have mistresses on the
side, and there are many such men, are facing hardship because they can no
longer afford to wine and dine their mistresses. For anybody who’s unclear on
why this is so unique for the men of the Italian nation, over there cheating
isn’t just something that men keep on the down low, it’s a whole culture.
Successful men are almost expected to have mistresses. It’s pretty much a
status symbol and the rate of divorce in Italy is ridiculous. One of its
premier cities, Milan, is even known by the somewhat dubious title ‘Cheating
Capital of the World’.
This article, which actually made
me laugh out loud at the idea that the economic downturn has actually lowered
the Italian divorce rate, not due to love, but due to the fact that divorce is
big money over on the Italian peninsular, got me thinking. Why is there this
strong culture of masculinity over in Italy. It’s something that’s present the
world over, but in most western countries it seems to have somewhat mellowed
out with the onset of the modern era and most notably feminism.
One reason could be the Catholic
Church. The Catholic Church is notorious for its attitudes towards women and
promotion of male dominance. Religion is something that isn’t easy to let go
of, it’s something you have ingrained into you over many years. Notably, the
Catholic probably has a stronger presence in Italy, its historic home, than in
almost anywhere else in the world.
Another reason for this masculine
culture could be down to Italy’s mafia culture. Crime syndicates have a
notoriously masculine character. They’re all about male codes of honour and
protecting women, even as a man dies. The mafia is notoriously linked to Italy,
especially in its southern reaches; it’s embedded into its very culture. Could
this be the reason why men act the way they do in Italy.
