Last night Le Iene (a satire news-type show that takes on everything from Italian politics to Italian culture) had a great feature where they sent one of their female correspondents to stand in the streets of Rome dressed like the various "showgirls" on TV. Obviously, she was mistaken for a prostitute and within minutes, men were pulling up saying things, such as "How much? and "Can I just touch your tits?" She would innocently respond things, such as, "Oh, I'm just waiting for my boyfriend to go to the cinema. You must be mistaken." The typical response from the men was "You go to the cinema DRESSED LIKE THAT?" and she'd say "This is how women dress on TV. What's the problem?" She was even stopped several times by the Carabinieri and received a 200-Euro fine. Below is the video. Even if you don't understand Italian, it's quite funny to see her walking around Rome dressed like that and just points out how ridiculous most of the women on Italian TV look. I like the part where the Carabiniere asks her "Do you think that's a normal way to dress?" and she says "Women dressed like this have entered your home and millions of Italian homes many times via the TV..."
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- Michellanea
- I am an American journalist living in Italy but this is by no means an homage to my "bella vita" or a compendium of recipes. I like Italy but I don't have that full-on Italophilia that many others seem to have. I love and miss my country but I often don't like it. These have been the overriding themes of my life in the last few years, so I thought I'd share the confusion and contradictions.
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10 comments:
I agree this is brilliant. I liked her "film" outfit. Priceless.
I recognize the street in the last clip. It's right by Villa Borghese park. This is a very nice area where one does not see "ladies of the evening." So I can imagine the Polizia thinking 'WTF?"
I don't watch shows with the showgirls. What are the demographics?
Sometimes the "showgirls" are hard to miss. Some channels have them do the weather report. And naked or half-nude women are often used to sell odd things, such as, yogurt. I'm no prude and very free-to-be-you-and-me and all but it gets kind of ridiculous. You know how on American TV they'll have graphics to tell you "Don't touch that dial! You won't want to miss X program coming up next..." after the shows? Up until a few years ago here, they'd have these brainless women (though not half nude, usually) who could barely read the teleprompter or look into the camera correctly list what show would be on next. I'm not talking about some budding broadcast student or a woman who happens to be beautiful and well-spoken. I mean an inarticulate airhead who has no business being on TV except to show off her big tits. And our tax Euros go to pay the salaries of those people as in Italy you have a TV tax! A brainless bimbo who gets paid to do something a flashing graphic could do better. One of the reasons why I rarely watch Italian TV and only shows, such as Le Iene and Le Invasioni Barbariche.
I agree about women being objectified here in Italy constantly. I was amazed at the volumes of pros on any street outside any village. Obviously there's lots of customers for them. aA I have written about on my Italy expat blog and on www.wisequeen.com care to link ?
Thanks Michelle... I have seen those women announce the next show. You're right, they are terrible! Of course I wondered, who did they sleep with to get that gig?
For local news I watch SKY TG24 (no cheesy weather girls). I'm not a prude either but not sure why a woman has to be naked to sell a product like tires.
That is brilliant. The men were so shocked by the woman dressing like that even though they look at women like that every night on tv. Mah.
Hm, I missed that on TV. I love the double standards they have for women here, it's everywhere, unfortunately. I love a lot of things about Italy, but ...
I actually thought it was quite funny that they dedicated a 20 minutes slot to proving that the veline / letterine / newsreaders look like prostitutes, when most of us 'stranieri' picked up on it 2 minutes after arriving in Italy....
It is brilliant. I keep seeing things that make me think I should watch Le Iene, but I never get around to it.
It's frustrating that criticism of the way the veline et. al. dress is often met with charges of prudishness (at least in my experience,) but this sketch really demonstrates just how inappropriate it is.
Inanzitutto, happy birthday!!!
Great clip! I missed Le Iene the other night. I used to watch it all the time.
When I first moved here I was shocked at how every single program had to have a scantily-clad woman on. Sports shows had their resident bimbo, anchorwomen would be pouting sexily into the camera, quiz shows had armies of girls bursting out of their bustiers. Even shows like Iene have to have their sexy (and pointless) dance number.
I have a young daughter and I'm worried about how the objectification of women in Italy will affect her self-esteem. For now, I just change the channel whenever I see veline and the like.
Hi, I am German married to an Italian, living in Liguria and THE OTHER NIGHT I got so upset for the image that p.e. "striscia's girls" give on the female world!!!!
Isn't the whole topic so incredible - and so typical for Italy? Sad sad sad!
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