Cultural Perception #2- Elisabeth-Anne Ashby

I decided to write my post about the single story people have about Italian Men. Now, generally, the postings/artifacts that I found were positive. At least from my own experience, a guy tells me he is Italian and my interest level goes through the roof. They dress nice, they are super attractive, they are family oriented, they are romantics, American girls cannot get enough of them, etc. The first artifact that I came across was an article written by Forbes informing men on how to dress like the Italians.

The single story a reader can get from this is that all Italians have fashion. Do not bother with any other culture, because Italy has it. And it was written on a successful news reporting site, suggesting that many people view this. It brings on the perception that all Italians dress nice and they must have a lot of money to do so. It is the only thing they care about. What about the Italians who cannot afford to wear what is high fashion? Are they any less "Italian"?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bAq2LOqdYOA

My next artifact (the link above) goes along with the first. It is a YouTube video on how an "Italian Gentleman" should dress. It is from the perspective of Italian men and, to me, this only seems to solidify the single story that is portrayed. It is one thing to read an article written by an American, because a reader can just assume that it is their opinion. However, to watch a video of Italian men saying what they should wear makes it seem like that is the reality in Italy. They are Italian, so they must know. In reality, on the other hand, perhaps the people being interviewed do not know a thing about fashion, but because they are identified with the culture, their opinions get tacked onto the label.

http://www.md-health.com/Italian-Men.html

Lastly, I found an article on a medical website giving tips for dating an Italian man. The stereotypical answers are given: Mama's boy, Casanovas/romantics, possessive and loud and expressive. The single story is that all Italian men must have these characteristics. So, if you meet an Italian man and want to date him, this is what you can expect. Perhaps some of them are true, but different personal and cultural experiences will not necessarily result in all Italian men being "mama's boy." I know it sounds impossible, but maybe he does not know how to be romantic.

Overall, our perception or single story that we have of Italian men is that they are handsome, dress well, and are romantics. I saw article upon article with the addition of videos and pictures saying why women are obsessed with Italian men. We, as a society, have it in our heads that physical appearances and relationships are the only things that make up the Italian culture when they can offer so much more. This is also a rare case when the single story is actually positive for a culture. However, that still does not merit justification in assuming that there is nothing else to an Italian man.