Since antiquity, tradition has held that women and humor don’t go together. Behind this notion lies the intersection of social power and humor, and women’s roles in both. The writings of Italian-Indian writer Laila Wadia confront these notions, specifically targeting the mechanism of stereotyping and the role of humor in cultural inclusion and exclusion. In a comic key, Wadia questions the cherished cultural concept of italianità: Who really has it, and of what does it actually consist? Can it be acquired by an outsider? And most importantly, what does it mean to have it? Structured as a highly ironic ersatz diary, Come diventare italiani in 24 ore positions the protagonist, Laila, as writing from outside Italian society in order to examine how the presence of otherness (as embodied in the migrant) challenges the traditional concept of italianità. By ironizing in equal measure the misguided stereotypes that Italians have of foreigners as well as the misguided stereotypes that foreigners have of Italians, Wadia exposes how the discourses of identity construction and social exclusion and inclusion are appropriated into economies of power, which humor can serve or challenge.

中文翻译：

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颠覆意大利语：莱拉·瓦迪亚的喜剧之声

自古以来，传统就认为女性和幽默不能共存。这个概念背后是社会权力和幽默的交集，以及女性在两者中的角色。意大利裔印度作家莱拉·瓦迪亚 (Laila Wadia) 的作品直面这些观念，特别针对刻板印象机制和幽默在文化包容和排斥中的作用。以喜剧的方式，瓦迪亚质疑意大利人珍视的文化概念：谁真正拥有它，它实际上由什么组成？能被外人收购吗？最重要的是，拥有它意味着什么？作为一本极具讽刺意味的仿造日记，《24 种矿石中的意大利语来了》将主角莱拉定位为来自意大利社会之外的写作，以研究他者的存在（如移民中所体现的）如何挑战意大利语的传统概念。