75% of Italian Housewives Dissatisfied with Their Lives Says 'Women and Quality of Life'

Italy’s Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi in Rome/Reuters75% of Italian Housewives Dissatisfied with Their Lives Says ‘Women and Quality of Life’ AOC Sexual Politics

Anne here. In a moment of serious reflection, it seems that even I may be guilty of glamourizing the life of Italian women who declared themselves the unhappiest in Europe in a recent survey of 4,000 women by Women and Quality of Life, a think tank on women. The women surveyed lived in France, Spain, Italy, Germany and UK.

76 per cent of Italian housewives were dissatisfied with their lives, compared to 51 per cent in the UK, 53 per cent in Germany, 57 per cent in France and 63 per cent in Spain.

Half of Italian women said they regretted getting married and two-thirds regretted having children. This reality comes in a country with one of the lowest birth rates in Europe.

Italy and 2010 Global Gender Gap Report

Italy ranked 74th in the 2010 World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap report behind Malawi, Ghana,  Vietnam and Peru. You get my drift.

The 2010 rankings (which can change dramatically from one year to the next in countries without a committed infrastructure to women) were Germany (13); UK (15); Spain (11) and France (46). France’s rank dropped precipitously in 2010, a dramatic change brought on by resignations of women in the Sarkozy government. The same will happen for the US (19) - for the first time ever in the top 20 — with women now largely gone from the Obama administration and fewer women in Congress than in 30 years, based on the 2010 elections. The US could easily drop back to 35-40 this year’s report.

Women in Scandinavia Lead the Happiness Rankings

Jokes on AskMen.com say that women are never happy and always complaining, in their commentary about the new research.  In fact, there are strong correlations between positive happiness indicators and women who live in more progressive countries for women — specifically the Scandinavian nations.

In a discussion today on consumption and values God, Women & Materialism | Vogue Italia’s Smart Sensuality Values, I shared important research that links multiple studies on women’s happiness — including tax rates. See my 2010 analysis Status vs Money | A Third Look at Happiness, Gender Equality & Taxes in AOC Health & Happiness.

Italian Women Still Demand Berlusconi’s Resignation

More than 100,000 Italian women and their supporters turned out in Rome in February, saying that Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi’s dalliances with young women humiliate all women and degrade female dignity.

The summer was quiet in terms of large organized protests. But Berlusconi’s problems are far from over, with the third largest economy in Europe crippled with debt. And his sex parties zoomed back to front page news this weekend.

The Independent UK reported on Friday September 2 that “Giampaolo Tarantini, 34, and his wife Angela Devenuto, 32, were detained in Rome yesterday morning “for extorting money from Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi”, a police statement said. Mr Berlusconi is reported to have paid €500,000 to the businessman from Bari, followed by several smaller payments.”

Prime Minister Berlusconi denies that he was blackmailed by Tarantini.

Supporters of the media mogul who owns a billion-dollar empire of TV, film, and advertising called the February protests strictly political, arguing that the prime minister’s lifestyle is his personal prerogative.

If 74-year-old Berlusconi wants to pay for sex with a 17-year-old Moroccan night club dancer, it is his prerogative, say supporters.

Just a Bunch of Disgruntled Italian Communist Feminists

In language that sounds incredibly familiar in America, the February protests and current demands from Italian women that Berlusconi is not fit to lead the country were alleged to come from leftist feminists, even though a significant number of nuns are involved in opposing the prime minister. Responding to the February march of 100,000 women:

Mariastella Gelmini, wrote off the protesters as “the usual snob heroines of the left who stepped out of their drawing rooms to exploit feminine issues and attack a government that continues to have the backing of the majority of Italians.” via NPR

Sister Eugenia Bonelli talks against Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi during a protest in Rome Sunday, Feb. 13, 2011. Thousands of women turned out in 200 Italian cities to denounce what they say is Berlusconi’s debasing of females. via AP