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This paper explores the everyday anti-racist practices of the female children of immigrants in Italy. We analyse two case studies: first, a group of Muslim young women in Italy who have publicly re-appropriated what is popularly known as ‘Islamic fashion’; and second, a group of young Afro-Italian women who meet both online and offline to share resources about the care of ‘natural’ Afro-textured hair. We argue that transnational feminist analysis can shed light on the complex ways that aesthetics and the female body are implicated in struggles for social and legal recognition in Italy among the so-called second generatio

Italian society continues to be seen as homogeneous in religious terms and the teaching of Catholic religion in state schools as a pillar of the historical and cultural heritage of the Italian population, as sanctioned by the 1984 Concordat between the State and the Catholic Church. But profound changes have been under way since that Concordat, with migrant families settling in the country and their Italian-born offspring now attending Italian state schools. How do they feel about religious education at school? How do they view the Italian model of secularism and religious pluralism in Italy? What do they see as Italianness? A qualitative, focus-group-based investigation into secondary schools in a northern Italian town enables us to bring out these students’ demand for change from a generational standpoint and see beyond education into religion to possible ways to educate about and from religions, creating new horizons for religious pluralism (even) in Italy.

The Focus Group 1 (FG) is a social research method widely used in contemporary qualitative research. It is based on the interaction among participants in a small group (usually 7-10 people) produced by researchers with the aim of gaining scientific knowledge. Led by two researchers, one investigator facilitates the discussion based on topic guidelines, while the other observes-above all addressing his/her attention towards body language (Frisina 2010). The groups are constructed based on a sample design with attention to their composition, since this provides the key to the necessary comparisons that need to be made (Barbour 2007). As the researchers' primary task is to choose the best way to use FGs to answer a specific research question and to justify their choice, researchers should adapt, borrow and combine different approaches of doing FGs. However, if researchers choose the qualitative side of social research, aiming at generating in-depth analyses, "redefining existing categories" and, above all, being "attuned to understanding the voices of social actors and immigrant groups, especially the ones who lack