Avatar Blog #2

Ciao! I am now 17 years old and I am still living with my family in Rome, Italy. My brother, Joshua, is now 22 years old. In Italy it is very common for both of us to be living at home with our parents at our ages and even older (Schifini D’Andrea, 1998). About 90% of people ages 20-24 years old, 50% of people 25-29 years old, and 20% of people 30-34 years old live with their families but it is more frequent for males to stay living with their families longer than females (Schifini D’Andrea, 1998). That means that even though my brother is four years older than I am, I will probably move out of the house before he does because I am a girl. One of the reasons that young people continue to live with their families for so long is that the unemployment rates in Italy are extremely high for young people, although they vary by region (Schifini D’Andrea, 1998). The good news for me is that female unemployment has been declining, this may be because of the cultural changes and generational turnover that has lead to an increase in women’s education level and more available jobs for women (Schifini D’Andrea, 1998).

In my family, my father has always worked and my mother has always stayed home to take care of my brother and I and all of the household duties like cooking and cleaning (Salamone). This is the more traditional and older way of Italian life because tasks are assigned by age and gender but now it is becoming more common to have both parents working outside the home (Salamone). I do not want to be a stay at home mom; I want to work after I finish school at a university of my choosing. I am still in high school but since I will complete five years of secondary school and receive an upper secondary school diploma, I will be able to go to university (Italian Education System). The problem for me is that here in Italy the wage penalty of a full-time woman is larger at low educational attainments (Mussida & Picchio, 2012). Therefore, low educated women are more greatly desired than men and highly educated women (Mussida & Piccio, 2012).

Although we are more traditional Italian family, with my father working and my mother staying at home, my mother has always had power in decision making and her own independence even it is more than she is traditionally supposed to have (Salamone). This probably is why my parents have a relatively happy and healthy marriage as opposed to some of my friend’s parents who have gotten divorced (Salamone). Until recently, divorce was forbidden in Italy (Salamone). Sadly, violence against women, especially domestic abuse, according to The New York Times, is the most common form of violence in Italy and almost 32% of women ages 16-70 have been affected by it (Povoledo, 2013). This abuse may have something to do with the gender roles for males and females in Italian culture but I am not sure.

A few final thoughts as a 17 year old girl in Italy; I like to spend my free time listening to music, watching movies, going to a club or pub, or going out for some wonderful pizza. I also like to meet up with friends in Campo dei Fiori, Rome. I do not have a job because it is very uncommon for people my age to hold part-time jobs especially while going to school (Italian and American Youth). 

References

Italian and American Youth: Some Cultural Differences. Life in Italy. Retrieved from http://www.lifeinitaly.com/culture/italian-and-american-youths

Povoledo, Elisabetta. (2013). A Call for Aid, Not Laws, to Help Women in Italy. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/19/world/europe/a-call-for-aid-not-laws-to-help-women-in-italy.html?_r=0

Mussida, C., & Picchio, M. (2012). The Gender Gap by Education in Italy. IZA Discussion Paper Series (No. 6428).

Salamone, Frank A. Countries and Their Cultures. In Every Culture. Retrieved from http://www.everyculture.com/Ge-It/Italy.html#b

Schifini D’Andrea, Silvana. (1998). Italian Quality of Life. Social Indicators Research, 44, 5-39.

Italian Education System. In Understanding Italy. Retrieved from http://www.understandingitaly.com/profile-content/education.html