Social Issues in Italy - Research Paper Example

Social issues in Italy Introduction Italy is widely regarded as a country rich in art, culture and natural beauty. However, these features have not been of much benefit in reducing social issues witnessed within the country in the recent phenomenon. Currently, Italy faces numerous social issues that have been disrupting its overall flourish to a substantial extent. For instance, one of the current social issues observed in Italy is the rising number of children in families below the poverty line. In the rising globalization era, where education and cultural diversity is treated as a key attribute of advanced society, Italy has also been facing social issues related to its education system as well as its cultural contexts. Experts have been of the view that these issues were due to the effects of collision observed between the conservative society structure of Italy and the contemporary changes demanded in the 21st century context (Associazione Italiana Di Sociologia, 2007). Studying these issues, this research paper will analyze the various social issues of Italy concentrating towards the discussion of marriage system, family structure, education system, gender roles and the other customs and traditions prevailing in the societal structure of the country. Discussion Italian wedding is one of those symbolic events, which proves the love and dedication of the Italian people towards their culture. The rituals of marriage vary from one region to another in the country. However, it is largely observed that the society desires that couples should marry in accordance to the older traditions followed through their ancestry. In Italian wedding customs, many superstitions can be identified that have been in existence since the traditional period. For example, the Italian bride wears green dress before the day of wedding with a belief that it brings good fortune to their married life (Exclusive Italy, n.d.). In the traditional Italian wedding, a great prevalence of dowry could also be observed. However, with the passage of time, this system has been abolished, which often ignites collision between the social groups following traditional customs and those preferring an open minded contemporary belief being more concerned regarding equal distribution of human rights. It was also observed that often the family with a single child was bound to remain unmarried and look after their aged parents in the traditional Italian family formations, which further increased the potentials that couples were likely to have more than one child (Advameg, Inc, 2014). Concerning the recent social context, this particular belief might have resulted in the rising number of children, especially in the below poverty line families. Another fact related to Italian marriage custom, divorce cases were noted as rare in the Italian society being strictly discouraged. However, concerning the contemporary society effects, a rising number of divorces are witnessed in its current structure, which might again be accounted as a result of clashes between traditional beliefs and modern ideologies (Advameg, Inc, 2014). This particular factor might have further contributed to the social issues witnessed by the Italian society today. Again, the Italian families consist of traditional structure with power authority. In the Italian families, the power or the control is distributed among the family members in a hierarchical order. Usually, the elder members of the family are placed at the top level of the hierarchy and the youngest at the bottom. In Italy, children are supposed to stay with their parents until they are married. The young members of the Italian family have a high respect for their elders. The parents of the Italian families have the sole authority to make any decision regarding their children, which at often times gives rise to conflicts within families in today’s contemporary era where people demand for a certain degree of freedom in decision making. The communication system is decentralized among the Italian family members as all the family members have the permission to talk openly with the other members (Italy, n.d.). Nevertheless, clashes between the modern lifestyle and traditional beliefs might at times increase risks for social issues witnessed within the country (Life in Italy, 2014). The education system currently presents one of the most serious issues of Italy. The education system of the country has been classified under two of the broader groups i.e. primary and secondary based on a traditional modus operandi until higher education in Universities. Children within the age group of 6 to 11 are allowed to enter in the primary section of education and are later promoted to the secondary level, which signifies that education in the Italian society begins latter than many other societies around the world. However, rise in the number of preparatory schools have been beneficial in raising the education level of the children within the society. Every year in Italy, although majority students take a favorable decision for higher education, others decide to enter into the labor markets in search of a job. This in turn inhibits the knowledge potentials of the labor market within the society (Brunello et. al., 2000). However, because the completion of University education in Italy requires considerable time and effort, it often leads the young people to get married and get involved in family customs at a later age, which gradually diverts them from education to a greater need for employment, further weakening the formation of a knowledge intensive labor force within the country (Brown & Sessions, 1999). With respect to the gender roles followed in the Italian society, it has been observed that there still prevails a degree of gender discrimination among the roles of men and women. The relationship between the Italian husband and wife is very traditional. As often observed, the Italian males contribute very little to the household works and child care, which is stated as the sole responsibility of women in the society. This certainly increases polarization amid women and men in Italy and to an extent might have limited empowerment of women within the society (Net Industries and Its Licensors, 2014). Usually, in Italian families, the boys are allowed with more freedom than that to the girls. However, in the present scenario, it has been observed that regardless of all the gender biasness, the Italian women engage themselves in the labor markets along with fulfilling all the responsibilities of the household and also taking proper care of their children (Scott, 2006). Therefore, looking into these facts, the unequal division of gender roles in the Italian society can be signified as to reveal that such differences often create complexities for the societal structure in Italy. Despite of the complete freedom in the decisions of the education system and family structure, there remains certain biasness in the distribution of the gender roles. Although in the formation of family structure and education Italians can be regarded as quite modernized, but when concerning gender roles, they are still the follower of traditional beliefs and norms, which often leads to societal clashes (Dolson et al., 2009). Italian culture, customs and traditions are formed on the basis of its arts, architecture, food, music and other values. In the Italian societies, it has been observed that greeting the strangers at the first meet with a handshake is most preferable. In case of relatives or friends, greeting is done with air kissing on the cheeks (Just Landed, 2014). It is also preferred that while visiting someone’s house for an invitation, the guests must take wine, flowers or chocolates as a gift. While talking to any elder Italian member of the family, it is highly required that formal words and phrases must be used (Kwintessential, 2013). It has also been mentioned that Italians are the extreme followers of their traditional customs and traditions. The Italian families also follow a common ritual of gathering together every Sunday and celebrating the entire day having lunch or dinner together when spending their leisure time together. In the Italian marriages also, they are the followers of their rituals, which were designed by their ancestors’ long time ago. Often, it has also been observed that the children of the Italian family give much respect to their elders and come to meet them every week. All these signify that the people of Italy are highly cultural and prefer to preserve their old traditions made by their ancestors implying significant influence by one family member in the decisions of another, which might at times make the family members feel a lack of privacy or freedom in decision-making. This shall further ignite social issues within the country context in demand for higher value of equal human rights (Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21, 2013). Conclusion From the above discussion and analysis, it has been observed that the social structure of Italy is although well distributed, it possesses certain gaps that have further contributed to its social issues. It has also been observed that Italians have enough traditional and cultural values, which they are instructed to follow from their early childhood itself. Italian people follow a decentralized system of communication between family members, allowing them to speak openly in front of the members increasing the individualistic nature of the society. It has also been observed that the Italian people give although seek higher education after the completion of their secondary level of education, they are eventually diverted to family life at often times, which hampers their future studies resulting in poor knowledge base of the labor force in general. In the context of marriages, the Italian society encourages marriages in accordance to the decisions or choices made by their elders, which can also be noted as a key reason for the high rate of divorce cases witnessed in the current Italian society. Gender differences are also accounted at a high ratio in the Italian society in the current phenomenon, which can also be considered as a contributing factor to the social issues witnessed by Italy. References Advameg, Inc. (2014). Countries and their cultures. Retrieved from http://www.everyculture.com/Ge-It/Italy.html Associazione Italiana Di Sociologia. (2007). Issues and Trends in Italian Sociology. Napoli: ScriptaWeb. Brown, S., & Sessions, J. G. (1999). Education and employment status: a test of the strong screening hypothesis in Italy. Economics of Education Review, 18, 397-404. Brunello, G., Comi, S., & Lucifora, C. (2000). The returns to education in Italy: a new look at the evidence. Institute for the Study of Labor, 1-47. Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21. (2013). Italian culture and traditions. Retrieved from http://www.pier21.ca/culture-trunks/italy/italian-culture-and-traditions Dolson, L., Ryan, A., & Walker, M. (2009). A Case Study of Italy’s Gender, Work, & Family. Annotated Bibliography, 1-13. Exclusive Italy. (N.d.). Italian wedding traditions. Retrieved from http://www.exclusiveitalyweddings.com/special-features/italian-wedding-traditions.html Italy. (N.d.). Family. Retrieved from http://acad.depauw.edu/mkfinney_web/teaching/Com227/culturalPortfolios/ITALY/Italy%20Family.html Just Landed. (2014). Social customs in Italy. Retrieved from http://www.justlanded.com/english/Italy/Articles/Culture/Social-customs-in-Italy Kwintessential. (2013). Italy - language, culture, customs and etiquette. Retrieved from http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/global-etiquette/italy-country-profile.html Life in Italy. (2014). Italian families: then and now. Retrieved from http://www.lifeinitaly.com/italian-families-then-and-now Net Industries and its Licensors. (2014). Italy - education and gender roles. Retrieved from http://family.jrank.org/pages/979/Italy-Education-Gender-Roles.html Scott, J. (2006). Family and Gender Roles: How Attitudes Are Changing. University of Cambridge, 1-18. Read More