Cu' nasci masculu nasci stidda.
He who is born a male is born a star.
- Sicilian proverb
Italy's Supreme court, the Cassazione, has yet again intervened to protect the sensibilities of the Italian male and this time, it has excelled itself:
On Tuesday, Judge Maurizio Fumo ruled that it is now a crime to tell a man he "has no balls" ["Tu non hai palle"]. This overturns the previous not guilty verdict of a Potenza [Basilicata] court in the case of a man who had uttered the phrase against his lawyer cousin in a court in Taranto [Puglia].
In Cassazione Ruling no. 30719 Judge Fumo reasoned that,
"Apart from the vulgarity of the expression, it is really insulting, implying that the injured party lacks virility and also suffers from weakness of character, lack of determination, a lack of general capability and a lack of consistency - all characteristics which, rightly or wrongly, we associate with the male."
Judge Fumo also said that the phrase, uttered in the workplace, could be damaging to a man's reputation there.
OK, Cassazione - now I would like you to make it illegal for a person to greet a woman with the remark,
"Gosh, you've put on weight!"
Got it?
5 comments:
No!!!!!
I can't believe it.
Well, I can believe it; but I have a tough time accepting it.
Haha, love your idea of what should be next to outlaw.
Btw, have you seen the blog page of The Archers website? Your tweet has been chosen for the title section of the latest blog - I am very impressed.
Haha, Rosaria! Only in Italy.... Hello, Daydreamer. Glad you agree. I had no idea about the tweet on "The Archers" site - thank you. I am pleasantly astounded!
So if you point out (quite accurately) to a woman who has just had a hysterectomy that she no longer has oviaries, is that illegal too..?
Well, to do so would be very insensitive, Gleds.
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