意总理遭10万女性联名声讨

More than 100,000 women have signed a petition saying they are offended by Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi -- an initiative launched by a newspaper after the premier made a sexist remark to an opposition politician.

Berlusconi, 73, made the jab during a call in to a late-night talk show Oct. 7 that featured, among other guests, Rosy Bindi, a 58-year-old former minister who dresses conservatively, wears glasses and has short, gray hair.

"You are always more beautiful than intelligent," Berlusconi told her. She snapped back: "I'm not one of the women at your disposal."

Berlusconi's remark sparked outrage, and prompted three prominent Italian intellectuals to draft a petition stating that Berlusconi uses women's bodies for his political ends, denigrating women and democracy in the process.

"This man offends us. Stop him," reads the petition, which has been signed by well-known Italian artists, musicians, television personalities as well as ordinary Italians.

The left-leaning La Repubblica daily, which has been at the forefront of exposing accusations of impropriety against Berlusconi over his relations with young women and been sued by the premier as a result, is organizing the petition and reported Thursday that more than 100,000 women had signed.

Many women sent their photos into the newspaper's Web site, with the words "offended by the premier" or "not at your disposal" or similar statements written on them.

Berlusconi's scandal began earlier this year when his wife announced she was divorcing him, citing his presence at the birthday party of an 18-year-old model and his decision to run former showgirls as candidates for European Parliament elections.

意大利总理西尔维奥．贝卢斯科尼日前遭十万多名女性联名声讨，这项签名活动由一家报纸发起，主要针对总理先生此前对一名反对派政坛人物发表的性别歧视言论。

在10月7日的一档深夜脱口秀节目中，73岁的贝卢斯科尼在接受电话连线采访时对在座的前部长、58岁的罗西．宾迪出言不逊。罗西穿着保守，戴着眼镜，头发呈灰色，留着短发。

贝卢斯科尼评价她说：“你的美貌总是比你的智慧更胜一筹。” 罗西随即反驳说：“我可不是你能玩弄的女人。”

贝卢斯科尼的这番言论随即引发了民众的极大愤慨，意大利三位著名知识分子还专门起草了一份陈情书，痛斥贝卢斯科尼利用女性的身体达到他的政治目的，并指责他在此过程中诋毁了女性和民主。

这份陈情书上写道：“这个男人冒犯了我们。快阻止他。”陈情书上汇集了意大利著名艺术家、音乐家、电视名人以及普通民众的签名。

意大利左翼报《共和报》正在组织这一活动，并于本周四报道称目前已有10万多名女性在陈情书上签名。《共和报》总是率先披露贝卢斯科尼和年轻女性的性丑闻，并因此被贝卢斯科尼起诉。

很多女性将自己的照片发到该报的网站上，照片上还写着“被总理冒犯”、“不被你玩弄”或其他相似的话语。

贝卢斯科尼的性丑闻开始于今年早些时候，那时他的妻子宣布要与他离婚。据称，贝卢斯科尼出现在一名18岁模特的生日派对上，还决定挑选歌舞女郎作为欧洲议会选举的候选人。

Vocabulary:

jab: a quick stab or blow 猛戳，猛击

snap back: 反驳说（The Third World snaps back that such concerns are merely modern versions of colonialism. 第三世界反驳说，这种关注只不过是殖民主义的现代翻版而已。）

at one's disposal: available to someone 由某人随意支配

denigrate: to disparage; belittle 诋毁，贬低（We must be fair competitors and must never denigrate other firms. 我们必须公平竞争，绝不诋毁其他公司。）

showgirl: a woman, typically attired in an elaborately decorated costume, who performs in a musical or theatrical production 歌舞女郎