Woman Has No Problem With Her Mussolini Surname

[matcom]

<snip>

ROME — If your last name is Mussolini, do you really want to inflict it on your children? Yes, says Alessandra Mussolini, granddaughter of the fascist dictator who was executed by Italian partisans at the end of World War II.

The problem, however, is that women in Italy cannot hand down their last names to their children — not, at least, without an enormous battle.

Mussolini wants to remove political and legal hurdles and make it as easy for mothers as it is for fathers to bestow their surnames on their offspring.

"We are the ones who go through labor," she said. "Why can't we give our names?"

Her grandfather Benito Mussolini, "Il Duce," was known for colonial conquests and anti-Semitic laws. She is a lawmaker for an offshoot of the political party considered heir to Italian fascism.

http://www.latimes.com/news/custom/showcase/la-fg-names23aug23.story

[Fenris]

1. Yeah, and neither does Chip Hitler.

[dryan]

2. Is this woman related to Sophia Loren?

I remember reading an article in "Life" Magazine that said that Loren's sister had married into the Mussolini family.

[Lavender Brown]

3. Dale Hitler's brother?

I think I went to school with him.

[Blue-Jay]

4. Or Larry Christ.

[NNadir]

5. I gave my boys my wife's name. It's hard to do here as well.

I had to go through all sorts of hassels

[Book Lover]

6. Unfortunate champion, but it's the right cause

The law is what it is because of sexism, pure and simple. It'll take some time, but I am convinced that the homeland of my fathers will eventually be dragged kicking and screaming into the 18th century any day now.