Opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of the publishers or editors of Best of Sicily. The cinematic and literary works mentioned here present sexually explicit content which may offend some readers.
Author's Note: When one of our editors suggested this article, I thought she had spent too much time in the Sicilian sun! But she made it clear that, in remaining faithful to our editorial policy, we would approach the topic based on what generally makes it in some way a little different from what's commonplace outside Italy, and that we would focus on "alternate" relationships rather than sex per se, from the points of view of men , women and teens.
The following descriptions are anecdotal based on experiences and are not meant to stereotype or generalise. The sex lives of many Sicilians fall well outside our few profiles. Here in Sicily, sex itself isn't too different from what is practiced elsewhere. It's the situations that may be just a little different. And yes, we're talking about relationships based on sex rather than long-term emotional attachments like marriage.
A friend from New York, who now lives in Palermo but spent much of her adult life in Manhattan, claims to have seen a greater variety of sexual relationships between men and women in Sicily than she ever saw in the United States. More precisely, she argues that the "unconventional" circumstances seem more prevalent here --things like fat old men with sexy young women, ugly professors involved with pretty students, and overt sexual harassment. As the daughter of Sicilians, the New Yorker is familiar with both societies.
Instead, let's say that a middle-aged American couple spends about a year in Sicily. They speak very little Italian and really do not experience the everyday lifestyle of the "natives" who reside in Palermo or Catania for decades --Italians experiencing things like courtship, marriage and raising a family in Sicily. Despite seeing some "reality" shows on TV in Italy there's nothing real about them as they are scripted and feature unknown professional actors , our foreign couple leaves Sicily thinking that Italians are somehow "innocent" compared to urban Americans.
