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Vito
Corleone and Tony Soprano:
In Touch with Their Feelings?
By Jeff Neu
Over the years, Hollywood and the media have
created an American stereotype of Italian males as patriarchal,
macho, violent and domineering, the type of Mafioso image presented
in The Sopranos and The Godfather. However,
a new study by researchers at the University of Missouri-Columbia
shows that Italian males actually endorse fewer of the masculine
characteristics than American men. This research will help make
mental health professionals more aware of gender stereotypes and
assist them in treating certain patients.
“This study calls into question prevalent
American stereotypes of Italian men and emphasizes the need for
much more research to better understand male role socialization
within and across cultures,” said Glenn Good, MU professor
of educational, school
and counseling psychology, who conducted the study along with
MU graduate student David Tager.
Good and Tager examined 152 Italian males
from public universities in Rome and Palermo, Italy. The participants
filled out surveys that examined 11 masculine characteristics:
winning, emotional control, risk taking, violence, power over
women, dominance, playboy, self-reliance, primacy of work, disdain
for homosexuality, and pursuit of status. The researchers compared
their findings to another study that examined 752 American men
from across the country who filled out a similar survey.
The researchers found that the Italian men
reported significantly lower adherence to nine of the 11 masculine
norms. There was no significant difference between Italians and
Americans on the pursuit of status norm. The only norm that Italian
males endorsed significantly higher than American students was
the playboy norm, which supports the stereotype of the flirtatious
and emotional Italian male vying for the attention of a woman.
Good and Tager were surprised by the Italian
males' lesser endorsement of disdain for homosexuals and power
over women. These results, Good said, seemed counter-intuitive
in light of Italy's much more hidden gay and lesbian community
and its greater disparity between men and women positions of power.
“It may be that, in general, Italian
males feel less threatened by the gay and lesbian community because
this community is less visible than in the United States,” Good said. “As for the power over women, Italian males may
not perceive themselves as having power over women because of
the traditional power of women within the Italian family structure.”
The study will appear in an upcoming issue
of Psychology of
Men and Masculinity.
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Last Update:
November 15, 2007
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