http://www.italianamericangirl.com/2008/09/mtvs-hills-star-lauren-conrad-compares.html
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
MTV's - 'The Hills' Star, Lauren Conrad Compares Italy to A Construction Site.
Ok, so am I the only person of Italian-American descent who picked up on LC's stupid comment about Italian men when asked how her trip to Italy was? She says to Audrina and Lo, that being in Italy was like being on a construction site. Basically the men do nothing but holler, taunt, and whistle at you like you are on a construction site.
Ok, first of all the fact that Italian men do have a tendency to be vocal when a woman walks by might be true, but to compare it to a construction site or say Italy is like being on a construction site is just stupid. You know how many people you are going to offend by this comment?
I will tell you, I worked in NYC and walked by many non-construction sites and have had men do the same thing and GEE I didn't compare it to a construction site. Actually I've been in Italy and NYC where that has happened, never did I compare it to a construction site. I just thought its guys being guys (doesnt matter if its NYC or ROME).
To be honest with you in NYC, there are tons of construction sites that I walk by and rarely are the guys fitting the stereotype of whistling and hooting. Sounds to me like LC has watched too many episodes of Sex and City where Miranda confronts the construction guy about his daily comments. Again, the typical stereotype.
Actually if I was a construction worker I would be offended. Let's remember its television, not real. Again the separation from fact to fiction is present. But then again, "The Hills" is supposed to be reality but when in actuality its totally scripted. Coming from my opinion and being in the industry..this is my guess. Yes, scripted and super edited. Hmm..which leads me to my next question, "did someone-- perhaps a producer write that line for her....?" Anything is possible.
LC should stay in California and not paint distorted pictures of Italy on the airwaves. Yes, I am a fan of "The Hills," but that just pissed me off. Too much money, a sheltered life, no tolerance for the world..see what happens..your views become narrow.
Interesting stuff regarding this writeup above:
1)Lauren Conrad suggests that this type of behaviour happens a lot when women walk past construction guys. Well, she's right. Its almost required of construction guys to do this when good-looking women approach (especially if they are wearing business/working attire). The Washington Post did an article about this over a decade ago and construction men of every race were guilty.
2)Anyone who knows the state of the reduced number of black men in construction these days (especially in places like California) will deduce that the men Lauren were addressing were likley not black.
3)If guys in Italy do this a lot, even if she exaggerated a bit, that destroys that theory that men with the white male gene are immune/above this type of behaviour.
4)The Italian American woman who wrote the blog objected to painting a group of men with a wide brush which is the same thing others here have suggested.
So again to my point is that this is not some injustice that black women alone must face.
As for the white woman who commented that she was not nearly as abused by black guys in Oakland on this front as black women were let me point out that unlike, say Latino men, black men in this country as a whole have never been comfortable expressing sexual advances or making blatant sexual remarks to white women in this nation. Its a nature that is learned/taught. Black men used to be killed by white folks for even looking at a white woman in the eye. Also many black men have been raised in black communities to feel guilty if they ever even acknowledged white women as pretty or desirable. So despite evidence to the contrary on these boards, black guys in America tend to be less forward about their desire of white women in general. And in the back of their minds perhaps most of them may feel uncomfortable publicly displaying such interest. Hence black guys, as if subconsciously worried about someone looking over their shoulders, are less likley to treat a white woman on the street like that. But Latino women on the other hand are almost as open season (in terms of whistling at them) for these dudes as black women are.
Of course there is also the possibility that the black dudes in Oakland you were talking about just weren't as into you as the black ladies they saw.