There are stereotypes everywhere about every kind of person that's ever stepped on the earth. I'm here to talk about the stereotypes of living in an Italian family. Both my mom's side and my dad's side of the family is Italian, so there is no escaping it.
The first stereotype is that Italians can't live without pasta. Which, side note, not every kind of noodle is called pasta. But for my family, I would say this stereotype is true. We eat pasta all of the time, and even my Aunt Jeanie, who can't have gluten, eats gluten-free pasta. Even if your family is not Italian, if you've never had Italian food I would definitely recommend it—especially fried ravioli.
The second stereotype is all Italians talk with their hands. In my family, this is very true. It doesn't mean though that just Italians talk with their hands. Last semester I took a public speaking class, and if we didn't use nonverbal communication such as using our hands, we got points off. I'm pretty sure that not everyone in my class was Italian, and some of them used their hands naturally.
"All Italians are late" is a stereotype that is not true, especially for me. I hate being late. I feel bad if I am late to something. I feel that it is important to be on time to an appointment or class because someone else is waiting for you. I'm sure there are Italians out there that are late quite a lot, but I think being late is about the person themselves and not their background.
Being all about family is definitely a stereotype that is completely true. Every Sunday, my whole family goes over to my Nani and Papa's house for Sunday dinner. It is a time where we catch up on all of the week's activities and news. Because I am away at college, I miss Sunday dinner a lot, but FaceTiming my family makes up for it.
Italians are die-hard football fans is not necessarily true—in fact, it's pretty false. My brother and I don't watch football very much, and my mom doesn't watch it at all. The only people in my family that I know of that watches it more than the rest is my Papa, my dad and my cousin, Ryan.
Another stereotype of all Italians love the opera isn't really true either. I feel that liking the opera is not about your heritage but about the kind of music and entertainment that you like. The only person I know that really likes the opera in my family is my dad's cousin, because she is an opera singer. Some of these stereotypes are more about the person themselves rather than whether they're Italian or not.
The last stereotype I'm going to talk about is all Italians are loud and talk a lot. Most of my family is very loud, especially at Sunday dinner. Everyone has so much to share and are very impatient because they think their story is the best. Not all of my family is loud, though. My dad usually talks in a normal tone, and my cousin Benjamin doesn't really talk a lot at all because he lives in Georgia. My cousins and I aren't as close with him because he lives far away. When he does talk to us though, he's really funny and intelligent. My Papa always says how one day he's going to win the lottery, and we will all be able to live on the same plot of land.
I hope you have learned more about Italians and what is true and what is not true. Whether you're Italian or not I definitely believe that you should learn about the culture and what Italy has to offer, because Italy is pretty great. There's only limited time in the world, so explore it.
