Impasse' or 'work in progress'?: notes on the actual feminist debate in Italy
| Autor | Lucia Re |
| Cargo | Prof. University of Florence, Italy |
| Páginas | 1-13 |
Periódico do Núcleo de Estudos e Pesquisas sobre Gênero e Direito
Centro de Ciências Jurídicas - Universidade Federal da Paraíba
Nº 02 - Ano 2015
ISSN | 2179-7137 | http://periodicos.ufpb.br/ojs2/index.php/ged/index
1 DOI: 10.18351/2179-7137/ged.2015n2p1-13
INTRODUCTION
“IMPASSE” OR “WORK IN PROGRESS”?: NOTES ON THE ACTUAL FEMINIST
DEBATE IN ITALY
Lucia Re
1
Abstract: The essay illustrates some
aspects of the more recent feminist debate
in Italy, connecting it with the international
debate and presenting the origin and design
of this special issue of the Journal “Genero
e direito”.
Keywords: Italian feminism, social
movements
Feminist organizations in Italy
appear to have achieved greater public
visibility in recent years. The movement
“Se non ora quando?”
2
in particular
succeeded in shifting media and political
agendas to once again address issues that
had long been the subject of debate within
women’s movements. The demonstration
that initiated this process was held on
February 13, 2011 and, for many women, it
represented an opportunity to express a
sense of collective outrage against forms of
public rhetoric and behavior – as well as an
aesthetic model prevalent in the mass media
– that convey a demeaning image of
women, representing them as either
housewives devoted to meeting the needs of
their husbands and children or as pretty
showgirls, as provocative as they are
1
Prof. University of Florence, Italy, mail: lucia.re@unifi.it
2
“If not now, then when?”, http://www.senonoraquando.eu/. A critical analysis of this movement’s politics can
be found in the essay by Sandra Rossetti in this volume.
subservient to men of wealth and power.
What is wholly missing from this imaginary
are all the other figures, including – as the
13 February movement stressed – the many
workers, professionals, scholars,
magistrates, etc. who do their part to help
our society function, often improving it as
well.
As Lorella Zanardo (2009, 2011)
and Michela Marzano (2010) have so
effectively demonstrated, these images of
the “housemaid” and “toy-woman” spill
over from Italy’s most-watched TV
broadcasts to invade various areas of
women’s daily lives, contaminating their
interpersonal relationships at work, at home
and in their spare time.
“Se non ora quando?” has given
rise to campaigns, projects and legislative
initiatives aimed at promoting a female
presence in top institutional positions and
when decisions that are key to the life of the
country are taken. The movement has
captured widespread sentiments and
catalyzed initiatives that were already
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