Sunday, October 17, 2010

Best academic article title

Olive or White? The colour of Italians in Australia. (by Helen Andreoni, Journal of Australian Studies, 2003, 77:81)

"This is the story of how the colour olive, first linked to Italian immigrant workers in the later part of the nineteenth century, has changed from being a derogatory label to an ethnicity marker for those Australian Italians who do not want to be assimilated. Those seeking to assimilate have repackaged their Italianness to present themselves as ‘white’ or at the very least as Italians from what are seen to be the more prestigious parts of central and northern Italy. Those not wanting to assimilate have used the olive label to challenge the society of which they are a part. This article will look at how Italians came to be labelled as the ‘Dago Menace’, the ‘Olive Peril’, the ‘Greasy Wog’ and the ‘Olive Trash’, and will consider also the reactions of Italians and Australian Italians to these stereotypes."

1 comment:

limonana said...

very intriguing. i'm pretty sure i've been called "olive peril" at least once in my life...