Babelicious and brainy?

Recently I discovered I am not the open-minded person I thought I was. My epiphany came courtesy of Silvio Berlusconi, a man who has been responsible for many style epiphanies, from “See: politicians get plastic surgery!” to “Grown men should never wear do-rags!” This latest moment happened just after rumours were published that the Italian prime minister was nominating a TV announcer, a former Italian Big Brother contestant, and two actresses as part of his roster of candidates in next week’s European parliamentary election. Berlusconi denied it but, nevertheless, the news caused me, his estranged wife and numerous media pundits from Australia to Belgium, to roll our eyes and tssk our teeth and then happily engage in snarky meditations about beauty vs brains and so on – all actions predicated, I admit, on the assumption that these theoretical nominees were bimbos. Though subsequently, in all but one case (Barbara Matero, the TV announcer, who has a science degree), the information proved not to be true, it still got me thinking. Why did I, on hearing the (false) news, automatically assume the women were unqualified? I didn’t know much about them, and neither did most of the others who condemned the situation. Why did none of us give the idea of Berlusconi’s babes the benefit of the doubt? Especially me, considering the years it took me to shrug the “I-may-be-a-fashion-editor-but-I-can-still-quote-Heidegger” chip off my shoulder? Simple: the not-really-nominees had wild red curls (Amelia Sozio, the ex-Big Brother star), flippy hair and blue eyes (Matera, who is also an ex-Miss Italy contestant), and perfect teeth (Camilla Ferranti, who has been on soaps), and had occasionally been pictured in bikinis, strapless paisley summer dresses, and other non-traditional professional attire.

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http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/cec4097e-4beb-11de-b827-00144feabdc0.html