Italian America and its Woeful Lack of Female Role Models

OK: forget role models. We definitely don't have those, but we also don't even have any pop culture icon or character or anything to identify with.

That being said, I've determined that Daniel Franzese is our most succinct, poignant, vivid point of reference.

Yes, it's funny. I know. But it's really not funny at all.

Within mainstream American culture, Italian American women do not feature prominently anywhere: literature, film, television, politics; the more you think on it, the more disturbing it really is.

So I suppose it's time for me to address us collectively: the over 10 million Italian American women in this country: we make up almost 6% of the population. With all the ethnicities represented, and the split in numbers because of gender, that's a much larger representation than it may seem. It's time for us to give one another something that America herself will not give.

As the saying goes, "You're Italian - do it right!"