Giorgia Meloni, the Prime Minister of Italy, has been named “Man of the Year” by Liberio Quotidiano, a Milan Daily. Incidentally, Meloni is the first female prime minister of the country as well. The paper also said that Meloni had won the battle of the sexes.
Feminists and other women’s activists, including the MP, Elisabetta Piccolotti, believe that the title is regressive and perpetuates the idea of male superiority. Piccolotti asked the prime minister to clarify their gender identity, posing the question of whether they are a woman, a man, or non-binary in a Facebook post, as reported by The Telegraph.
According to an article by Mario Sechi, the Rome bureau chief, he contends that Giorgia Meloni, the prime minister, has triumphed in what he describes as the “war of the sexes” in Italy. Sechi asserts that Meloni not only shattered the glass ceiling but eliminated it entirely.
The article suggests that Meloni’s leadership style, characterized by strength and combativeness, is seen as a response to the challenges of multiple wars, geopolitical shocks, a transforming Europe, and a reshaping global order. Additionally, it has been mentioned that Sechi was part of Meloni’s public relations team for a period in 2023 before joining the daily.
Why did “Man of the Year” being named a woman offend people?
People found it offensive because it is felt that calling a woman a man as an honour for her achievements is saying that those achievements are male exclusive and if a woman achieves them, then she is an honorary man. This undermines women’s achievements and promotes the idea that women’s successes are exceptions while men’s are the norm. She has been described as dissolving gender issues and demonstrating strength. This ends up being an affirmation of male superiority by celebrating attributes such as ‘strength’ as masculine. Women who have taken strides being described as masculine perpetuates false stereotypes.
Meloni and women’s issues, according to critics
Meloni has stirred controversy on multiple occasions with respect to women’s and LGBTQ issues. Her anti-abortion stance and association with anti-LGBTQ movements have been mired in controversy.
Critics have talked about the prevalent issue of outbreaks of violence against women in Italy, citing 125 femicides within one year. Despite the majority of perpetrators being Italian, there has been a noted tendency for the far right to selectively highlight gender violence when committed by non-Italians. This selective focus is described as ‘femonationalism,’ a concept from Sara Farris, where the insecurity of women is exploited for racist and xenophobic purposes. The paragraph implies a disconnect between the actual statistics of violence and the political narratives surrounding it, emphasizing the need for a nuanced understanding of the issue.
