Family politics: political rhetoric and the transformation of family life in the Italian Second Republic

Abstract

Journal of Modern Italian StudiesPublication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: AbstractIn recent years the family has taken central stage within the Italian political debate, as a privileged instrument of political confrontation and propaganda. In itself, this is not a new phenomenon. The legal definition of what constitutes a family has represented a major terrain of political confrontation throughout the post-war years, and any reform carried out or attempted in this area has provoked highly divisive reactions. Moving from the debates that have surrounded the 2004 law on medically assisted procreation (Legge 40/2004) and the plan for the regulation of unmarried stable cohabitations presented by the Prodi government in January 2007, this article analyses the use of the family and reproduction in contemporary Italian political discourse. The argument suggested is that after the critical engagement over the family promoted by the social movements of the late 1960s -whose effects in terms of policy making could be observed throughout the 1970s and early 1980s -an ideological approach has prevailed in Italy throughout the 1990s. Increasingly within the 'second republic' the reference to the family has become a privileged instrument of political confrontation, with little attention given to the actual transformations (and continuities) that characterize contemporary family life.

Gender Fundamentalism and Heteronormativity in the Political Discussion About Lesbian and Gay Parenthood

“…In the difficulty of indicating a single party to vote for, the Vatican has chosen a strategy of neutrality, not supporting any existing party. However, the Church has maintained its influence upon law-making by warning the Catholic politicians against decisions that could undermine the family founded upon marriage (Bernini, 2008).…”

The organisation of sexuality and the sexuality of organisation: A genealogical analysis of sexual ‘inclusive exclusion’ at work

“…Similarly, the legislation against employment discrimination based on sexual orientation (Law n. 216 of July 2003, amended in 2008, which transposed the European Union Directive 2000/78) still allows differential treatment if sexuality 'affects the performance of work or constitutes decisive requisites for its carrying out'. Such difficulties to legally recognise LGBTQ rights in Italy have been ascribed to the influence of the Vatican on the political decisions regarding family life and sexualities (Bernini, 2008;Santos, 2013). This has led several governments, including those with a centre-left majority, to postpone or censor controversial issues that appear to attack the essence of the family as a 'natural institution'.…”

Hegemony and Heteronormativity: Homonormative Discourses of LGBTQ Activists About Lesbian and Gay Parenting

“…Whereas over the last decades progressive normalization and new regulations for lesbian and gay couples and their children have happened in Western Europe, same-sex sexual orientations are still viewed as a social problem, and progressive initiatives related to intimacy and sexualities are still strongly contested, especially in those contexts where Catholicism exerts an important influence on social values with regard to family life and sexualities (Bernini, 2008;Garelli, 2007;Santos, 2013).…”

“…In Italy, after the collapse in the early 1990s of the Christian Democratic Party, which ruled the country in close connection to the Vatican since the founding of the Republic, the Catholic church continued to influence political decisions with regard to family life and sexualities (Bernini, 2008;Garelli, 2007). Over the last few decades, the Vatican has largely succeeded in silencing the debate about LGBTQ issues, and it expressed its contrariety every time the hypothesis of recognition of same-sex couples and their children emerged, warning electors and politicians about decisions that would undermine the family founded upon marriage (Bernini, 2008). Despite the numerous law proposals tabled in the Parliament since 1988, the discussion about same-sex couples and their children has been postponed or censored for about 30 years.…”