Queer Italian Studies: Critical Reflections from the Field (original) (raw)
"A View on Queer and Feminism in Italy: Conflicts and Alliances". Gender/sexuality/Italy 6 (2019)
Gender/sexuality/Italy 6, 2019
This article explores some aspects of the relationship between feminism and queer in Italy today. There are significant areas where these two discursive and political paradigms have established and continue to establish productive, mutually reinforcing conversations and alliances. In other contexts, however, a sheer tension has emerged between the two, rooted in diverging views of the pivotal notion of "sexual difference." The article sets out to investigate and compare queer and feminist approaches to difference, reflecting critically on a number of scholarly, newspaper and blog articles that inform the current queer-feminist debate in Italy. On the one hand, it asks whether queer theory and activism have been misrepresented in these contexts, and how queer studies have responded to the critiques that have been addressed to queer theory and political practice. On the other hand, it points out how queer discourses have also partly misconstrued the positions and motivations of "sexual difference" feminism, at times relying on a form of linear temporality whereby queer fluidity would replace an "outdated" feminism. The article then looks at instances where a fruitful relationship between queer and feminism is established in academia and activism, especially in the recent development of transfeminism and the national network of Non una di meno.
Queer, Frocia, Femminiellə, Ricchione et al. – Localizing “Queer” in the Italian Context
Gender Sexuality Italy, 2019
This paper aims at examining the reception,(g)localization, and also (re)creation of different forms of “queer” in the Italian context. First, I conduct a semasiological analysis of the diachronic semantic and connotative development of the English-turned-global “queer” in order to provide a detailed insight into its palimpsestic meaning. The offensive qualities of the slur, I argue, provide the aggressive power required for self-definition in queer activism. In a next step, I examine the entry of “queer” into the Italian lexicon from a queer lexicographical and lexicological perspective. Lastly, adopting an onomasiological approach, selected emerging local Italian alternatives to the adopted and adapted English “queers” are presented, specifically frocioand frocia, femminiellə, and ricchione. My analysis focuses on the Italian linguistic and cultural context not as a passive recipient but brings to light its active and productive role in creating (g)localized “queers” by reappropriating and resignifying pre-existing local terms. It shows the interplay between the English and Italian “queers” and their alternatives, outlining their locatedness on a global to local scale, while at the same time unraveling their interconnectedness and their interdependencies.
Exploring the Complex Geographies of Italian Queer Activism
WHEN I WAS invited to write about queer activism in Italy, my reaction was totally enthusiastic, as it would be a chance to combine my PhD research issues (the geographies of social movements) with my interest and engagement in queer politics. Nevertheless, when assembling ideas and developing the main argument, I struggled to identify a unitary social movement I could refer to as queer activism in Italy. Looking back on the literature on the diffusion of queer theory and practice in Italy (e.g. Pustianaz 2010; 2011; Scarmoncin 2012), I realized the source of my concerns: the reception and translation of queer (intended as a theory, an adjective, a noun, a verb, and/or a political practice) among Italian activists beyond the academic sphere. Who is currently using the adjective/ verb queer to identify their political practice of sexual dissidence in the Italian context? Do the people I think of, and refer to, as queer activists really define themselves as queer subjects? What are the relations between the use of queer and that of frocia (literally fag in the feminine form) among militants?
Black, Queer, Jewish Italy (Seminar Syllabus, Princeton University, Fall 2017)
This seminar approaches the two most studied phases of Italian history, the Renaissance and the Twentieth century, by placing otherness at the center of the picture rather than at its margins. The main aim is to challenge traditional accounts of Italian culture, and to look at pivotal events and phenomena (the rise of Humanism, the rise of fascism, courtly culture, the two World Wars, Sixteenth century art, the avant-garde) from the point of view of non-white, non-christian, non-heterosexual witnesses , authors, and fictional characters. In class, we will adopt a trans-historical, intersec-tional, and interdisciplinary perspective: themes and issues will be analyzed at the crossing of the two historical phases and of the three topics in exam, and the material will include historical and theoretical analyses, narrative texts of different genres, poems , films, and works of visual art.
Critical Approaches to Gender and Sexuality in Italian Culture and Society
In exploring the development of critical debates on gender and sexuality in contemporary Italian culture, this article focuses on three issues that, it is argued, have shaped this evolution, at times limiting its scope: the interdisciplinary character of these fields; the varying levels of attention devoted to different modalities of gender and sexuality, which have seen more attention devoted to women/femininity than to men/masculinities; evolving theoretical discourses on gender and sexuality and arising tensions, particularly between Anglophone poststructuralist conceptions of gender and Italian sexual difference thought. I suggest that while perceived or actual failures to engage with Anglophone critical discourses provoke frustration, some recent scholarship in Italian offers productive critical innovation, interweaving Anglophone theories with Italian thought. This and other recent work goes some way towards addressing persistent gaps in critical analyses of sexuality and gender in an Italian context.
Honorary president of MIT – Movimento identità trans – Porpora Marcasciano is a witness to the growing Italian trans community's growing changes and language. Her first published volume, "AntoloGaia," is a description of, as Porpora Marcasciano writes, the trip which refers to the journey that started in 1973, as well as the discovery of the social lies (26). Through an honest and objective description of events, Porpora is able to walk us through social changes in Italy and the challenges faced by the Italian trans community. From the initial struggles through the first meetings of the MIT to the approval of Law 164 – which officially gave the courts the power to recognize the new sexual identity of individuals that undergo sex reassignment – in 1982. Porpora recalls her life with a very objective perspective, using a delicate touch when confronting even the more dramatic moments, like the beginnings of the spread of HIV in the trans community, the lack of information, the shame, and the fear that it brought with it. Even if she hides away her feelings behind the facts, we can still see her. She is there, her life, her hopes, and through her language, we can perceive her will in giving voice to the Italian trans community. This paper will focus on the book’s structure which, due to its uniqueness, requires a more careful examination; the historical importance of AntoloGaia; and lastly, its linguistic value.
‘FROCI’ AND ‘QUEERS’: 30 YEARS OF COMING OUT IN ITALY AND THE UK -‐ A TEXT COMPARATIVE STUDY
Questo articolo offre uno studio comparativo delle forme di esclusione societaria nei confronti di persone LGBT nelle societa’ inglese ed italiana negli ultimi 30 anni. Vengono esaminati nello specifico una serie di testi e pubblicazioni e attraverso l’analisi critica del discorso si cerca di fare luce su come le diverse opinioni ed (eventuali) aperture societarie verso sessualita’ ‘non-standard’ abbiano interagito con la costruzione e realizzazione di identita’ LGBT.
Gender violence: redressing intersectionality, 2015
This article describes the development of the Italian feminist political lexicon on gender-b a s e d v i o l e n c e w i t h i n t h e s e c u r i t y f r a m e i n t h e l a s t y e a r s. A f t e r t h e description of the historical main issues developed by feminism during the Seventies about the relation between gender-based violence, women's self-determination and criminal law, this paper describes the new framework of feminist and queer movements against the security policies on gender-based violence adopted by the Italian government since 2007. On the one hand, feminist movements criticized the processes of criminalization and victimization produced by the security frame and denounced the underlying nexus between sexism and racism. On the other hand, they addressed the essentialism deriving from these processes. Despite the mainstream vocabulary used the term " feminicide " in order to focus on its victimizing and alarmist aspects, contemporary feminist and queer movements thus addressed gender-based violence as a problem related to the gender stereotypes and sexist prejudices by deconstructing concepts such as gender, sexuality, and (hetero)patriarchy. In this perspective, gender-based violence is not only a form of dominion by men of women, but it also takes the s h a p e o f d i f f e r e n t i a l f o r m s o f i n c l u s i o n a n d e x c l u s i o n o f L G B T Q I p e r s o n s i n t h e neoliberal system, as in the case of homo-and trans-phobia. Resumen Este artículo describe el desarrollo en los últimos años del léxico político feminista italiano sobre violencia de género en el marco de la seguridad. Después de describir los principales hitos históricos desarrollados por el feminismo en los años setenta, sobre la relación entre la violencia de género, la autodeterminación de las mujeres * PhD in Sociology of Law and member of the Interdipartimental Center of Research on Gender Studies Scientific Committee at the University of Padua. Member of the Critical Criminology Master staff at the same University, her interests are related to Gender Studies, in particular focused on gender-based violence, sex work and p r e c a r i t y i n a c a d e m i c r e s e a r c h. S h e i s a l s o a n a c t i v i s t o f t h e Q u e e r c o l l e c t i v e Fuxia Block. Her recent publications include: " Gender violence and sexism in Italy. Norms, control and sexuality. " La camera blu. Rivista di studi di genere 10.10 (2014). caterina.peroni@gmail.com