2008 seems an important crossroad for women figures in our times. Numerous political events, in Italy and the rest of the world, seem to be overturning the habitual question of female emancipation and equality of the sexes.
If last month, our attention was drawn to dictators, monarchs and kings, now, instead the headlights are pointed directly at the gentler sex, in this case not queens or princesses, but women who work, and fight daily, be it in the political field or in numerous other environments historically reserved for the male sex.
The candidate for the American presidency, Hilary Clinton, represents a point of historical importance, but she is only the tip of the iceberg, in how much competitiveness in the female world has risen to unprecedented heights in the last few years, rendering the definition of the "weaker sex" obsolete. Other important figures are the German Angela Merkel, the first woman chancellor, Michelle Bachelet in Chile, and the Socialist candidate of the French elections, Sègolène Royal, notwithstanding the numerous nations where the female percentage in government fields are very high.
In Italy, female pride has forcefully re-emerged, after the famous case with Giuliano Ferrara, with his proposal of revising article 194 on voluntary abortion, which inevitably triggered the revival of all principal feminine movements.
What therefore, are the characteristics of the new woman? Not only beauty, but also eclecticism, flexibility, the ability to adapt, and a capacity to use new technologies: the woman 2.0 is a concentrate of talent, creativity, managerial capacity and combative spirit in a continuous appropriation of typically male practises, from the entrepreneur to the managerial offices.
The new protagonists of our society are super heroines, courageous, and cultural industry has not hesitated to propose them as a new role model, beginning with the cinema world, with more and more productions dedicated to them, to the musical world, passing through all the more important artistic practises.
Right now, Florence is celebrating a literary convention: "Women in
revolt between art and memory", just a few days after the end of the
exhibition at Turin, dedicated to female design, "D as Design. The
hand, the mind, the heart". These are only some of the many examples
regarding the renewed importance, and high respect that the figure and
role of women in our society have assumed.
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