A wave of images depicting Italy’s foreign minister and deputy prime minister Antonio Tajani wearing a variety of skirts and dresses has swept across Italian-language social media platforms.
No, he hasn’t suddenly become a fashion icon overnight: these pictures are actually AI-generated, and Italians are sharing them over a controversial statement he made about women.
To understand the joke, we need to go back to something Tajani, leader of the centre-right Forza Italia party, said at a political event near Rome on 18 September.
He was responding to a question about why voters should choose an established party, such as Forza Italia, rather than a newer and more eye-catching rival, such as National Future, the far-right party led by MEP Roberto Vannacci.
Tajani compared a voter’s choice of party with the advice he might give his son on what type of woman to marry.
In his analogy, he contrasted an attractive but potentially unfaithful woman with one who was less conspicuous but more dependable.
He then suggested the more “serious” woman might wear a longer skirt.
“Even if the polls say they prefer the [flashier girl], or the serious girl who maybe has a longer skirt than the other one, or it could be a muscular playboy versus the one who wears a tie to the office a little more often,” Tajani said to the audience at the ITACA event. “I always recommend choosing the reliable one, and the centre-right is reliable.”
The comment has gone viral on social media, where users have turned Tajani into a meme, commenting that the length of a woman’s skirt says nothing about her loyalty.
Politicians and priests weigh in
The remarks have also prompted criticism from Italy’s opposition politicians.
Former Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, leader of the centrist Italia Viva party, shared two of the pictures, saying that Tajani was “more of a meme than a minister.”
Elsewhere, senators from several opposition parties posted pictures of themselves in skirts as a protest. One participant described the demonstration as being about women’s freedom to dress without men judging them.
“This is a gesture of freedom to say that we are free to dress as we want,” said Raffaella Paita, also from Italia Viva, who spearheaded the protest. “We believe that women’s freedom is measured by every gesture of freedom, including the length of a skirt or any other gesture women choose to make without being judged by men.”
The controversy also drew a response from the Catholic Church: Giuseppe Baturi, secretary-general of the Italian Bishops’ Conference, said that women must be treated with respect.
“Every word, every glance at women must be filled with respect and admiration,” he told journalists in a press conference. “For us Christians, the first place where the Word became flesh was a woman’s womb.”
“For those of faith, this forever affects how they look at women,” he added. “Respect is needed, especially towards women, to the extent that they can be the object of superficial glances.”
Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said the comment “came out badly”, adding that she would not “blow it out of proportion.”
As for Tajani himself, he has since apologised, saying he never intended to offend women.