Sinner and Meloni: Breaking The Italian Sterotype?

For as long as I can remember, Italian and other Latin populations of Europe have either been shown as Al Pacino types, hot-blooded womanising types like Mateo off the UK's 'Benidorm', moustachioed plumbers shouting "Mamma Mia" like the Mario Bros, Dolmio ads that made Italians look South Asians, Mafia types, or running away or surrendering as in WW II. So those were the tropes that summed up Mediterranean people, but in this instance, Italians.

No doubt, the majority of Italians, whether born in the Motherland or the diaspora, fit this bill. How many times do we see Northern European women, especially British women, seeking or being led astray by exotic Med types that promise to love them forever and don't! How many of these holiday flings, because that's what they essentially are, end in a lasting relationship? No doubt, some do, but not many, I bet?

And it's not just women, either, in case you think I am saying it's only women. Northern European men can fall so easily for exotic Med women. How many of those are just flings, one-night stands, or something more permanent?

Like Northern European women and Southern European men, there are some lasting relationships between Northern European men and Southern European women.

Because of how the media or movies have always shown Italian men and women, everyone believes the stereotypical trope. That all Italian men are Al Pacino and women must be Sophia Loren clones. And there is nothing wrong with that. Pacino for women and Loren for men have an allure about them. However, that is not the full story of what Italians look like. Italy is a very diverse country.

Blonde Italians are 10% of the population. They are not Scandinavians who have been bused in to prove something. They are bona fide Italians. There are also red-headed Italians. While many may have brown eyes, there exist blue-eyed and green-eyed Italians, too. The song has been mocked as not being realistic, singing about "Blue Spanish Eyes". You get blue eyes, green eyes, and the stereotypical brown eyes in Spain, Portugal, too. You also have blondes, redheads, alongside the majority of brunettes.

Italy, Spain and Portugal are European countries. Just as much as the north of Europe is. They are not some God forsaken area on the subcontinent of India. Latin people, like other Europeans, are a mixture of people who came from somewhere else, and so, like Northern Europeans, will reflect that.

Two people have broken the notion that all Italians look the same: Giorgia Meloni and Jannik Sinner. Meloni in the world of politics and Sinner in the world of sport.

Meloni, with her blonde hair (dyed, admittedly), with her blue eyes and light skin, is a million miles away from the sultry Sophia Loren trope. She is feisty, intelligent, and a modern Italian woman who has broken the glass ceiling of a male-dominated society. Just like Margaret Thatcher did in Britain, she is the first female leader of Italy. Unlike past leaders like Berlusconi, there's no corruption, no mafia connections; what you see with Giorgia is what you get.

She is an Italian nationalist, and she is a Christian. She makes no bones about the fact that she wants to see Italy great again. She is from a Roman working-class background, and ancient Rome inspires her. While not being racist, Meloni thinks "Italy First"! Her Brothers of Italy Party has turned the tide of migrants coming to Italy. That's not to say migrants have stopped coming across the Med. But Meloni has made strident efforts to stop them and put them off.

We have Jannik Sinner, a Nordic-looking Italian. Who destroys the image of the Al Pacino trope? Standing tall, he is not what people think of as the typical Italian. Hailing from the South Tyrol in the far north of Italy. This is an alpine area of Italy where you might as well be in Austria. Austria, ironically enough, is not that far away either. Sinner is an intelligent, calculated, cool under pressure, Northern Italian.

Beating a Latin stereotype at Wimbledon in Spaniard Alcaraz. Sinner not only beat a rival tennis star and a fellow Latin, but also broke the stereotype of Latin people that Alcaraz, with all respect, defines.

Will it break the trope of all Latins being dark? Yes and no. When people see Sinner or Meloni, many will think, "Oh, they can't be Italian", because they don't fit the look. While condemning the ridiculousness of that statement, it is understandable.

People have been brainwashed into thinking Italians and Latins in general, are dark. While that is true, if you go to Italy, you will see blonde and red-haired Italians. You will think how brainwashed and ignorant you were. And if Meloni and Sinner can go some way to smashing that trope, then so be it.