What is the view that Italian men have about women in Italy? What is the womans role?

Question

Specifically the Sicilian men... do they see women as inferior? As equals?

Do they see their wives as inferior to them and cheat on them or do they respect the family and marriage vows?

Answer 1

ya know, i just went to italy in june, and everyone seemed equal, no inferior stuff like that, though i didn't enter their homes or anything.

Answer 2

No.  In most Sicilian households the wife "wears the pants".  Many Italian (especially Sicilian) men do cheat, but most will never, ever leave their wives.  I find Italians take marriage more seriously because they really do it for better or worse, even when worse means cheating and forgiving.  Life's too fu*king short.  If they like to love more than one woman at a time... who am I to stop them?

The best way to approach this sort of situation, if you really want to understand it (and not judge it), is to go spend some time in Sicily - and do that with an open mind.

Answer 3

I understand that Italian men are generally very respectful of their mothers, which I think is a good thing.

Whether they are respectful of their wives to the same extent I do not know.  Single italian men are all s*x maniacs, as I found when I went to Rome with my best friend in 1982.  Keeping them at bay was a full-time occupations.  What they're like once they are married I have no idea.

Answer 4

There has been a whole lot of change in Italian society since my first visit in 1956, even in Sicily. You don't see all women over 35 wearing black anymore. And men are more covert about giving every pretty girl that passes the once-over.

There's probably still plenty of sexism in Italy, but nothing like the Mussolini days, or even the post-WWII days.

Answer 5

My boy friend lives in northern Italy, according to what he said, Italians divorce rate is one of the lowest among European countries, 5%, also because it is a Roman Catholic country.  

Take his family as an example, his mother seems to have the most authority at home and all of her boys, 25, 28, 31 years of age have to ask her opinions or permissions on whatever they plan to do. His dad always goes to church with his mom and goes for shopping with her to help her out.  They seems to have a  strongly bonded traditional Italian family.

Whether Italian men respect their wives and marriage vows or not, I would think individual's personality plays the most important role in this respect.