I'm Just Saying.....

My bags are packed. My passport is up to date. I was almost ready to fly to Italy for the Grape Escape tomorrow, but while reading up on the country I've discovered some disturbing information.

If this is the attitude in Italy currently...well I'm just saying....maybe I'll have to stay home. I mean come on, grazie a Dio per il testosterone. Please read the following and let me know your feelings on the subject.

Groin scratching becomes a touchy subject

By Sara Everingham

Posted Fri Feb 29, 2008 2:44pm AEDT
Updated Fri Feb 29, 2008 4:09pm AEDT

Banned: Italian men can no longer touch their groins in public (file photo). (ABC News: Giulio Saggin)

Italy's highest appeals court has ruled that it is a criminal offence for men to touch their groins in public.

The ruling came after a 42-year-old man from Como, near Milan, was convicted of indecent behaviour for touching his groin through his clothing in the presence of other people.

According to reports, his lawyer argued it was nothing more than an involuntary movement. But he was fined 200 euros ($320) and had to pay another 1,000 euros in court costs.

So how common is it for Italian men to touch their "attributi" as it is known?

"They do it normally when they see a hearse drive past, because for them it's a superstition. So for some reason they touch their groin to ward off - I don't know - to ward off any ill that might become of it," said an Italian man in Sydney's Leichhardt area.

When asked if he sees it happening in Australia, the man replied:

"Are you kidding? I think Australians do it more than Italians. Especially with the stubby shorts, because the stubby shorts must be uncomfortable so they're always adjusting them."

Some are pleased by the ruling.

"If they passed the rule, I think ... [I] agree with that rule," said another.

"It's all superstition. I don't think the younger generation believe in this thing anymore. Like you say, 'touch wood' ... and they say, 'touch ...' - that's it. But I don't think, I think it's not right."

But for those still carrying on the tradition, it might - according to Allan Pease, an author of a book on body language - be a hard habit to break.

"Well, it's like any gesture. Most of us who have a repetitive gesture - and we all do, we all have at least one or two or three of these. It might be a nose scratch or a maybe just a hair twirl or an ear pull. In other cases for men, a crotch adjustment - if they've been doing that for a long period of time [it is hard to stop]. First of all, we don't really normally know that we're doing these things."

Whatever the reason, Tony Palumbo from SBS Radio's Italian Program says it is unlikely there will be a crackdown.

"In Italy we've got thousands of laws and nobody takes care of them ... it is surprising that such a high court has got time to worry about this," he said.