Berlusconi is the most quotable man ever

I study Italian. One of the highlights of this is that I get to understand politics in a way that I have never been able to with my own country. It sounds ridiculous but I find it really hard to keep up with everything going on whilst learning about whatever happened before.

Anyway, below is an essay I did this semester about Italian feminism. Generally I'm happy I got a 2:1 because I only managed to attend 3 of the 10 seminars available (and wasn't actually present for the one about the Italian revolts) BUT considering it is THE ONLY univeristy essay I've spent more than 2 days on, I wish I got a 1st :( Read it.

According to Umberto Eco, “1968 has profoundly changed the way that all of us, at least in Europe, behave and relate to one another”. Do you agree with this statement? Explore at least one area of the late 1960s revolt in Italy (i.e. women, students, and workers’ revolt) and discuss its impact on contemporary society and culture.

Considering 1968 was a monumental year in Italy’s modern history, it is unsurprising that Umberto Eco labelled it as a period which ‘profoundly changed the way that all of us…behave’. Following the social insecurities following World War Two, Europe drastically began to change as people learnt to stand up for their beliefs and rights. Italy in particular saw the longest and most widespread revolution – such as the ‘Hot Autumn of 1969’ - involving students, workers and women . Although we can indeed appreciate Italian feminism influenced contemporary Italy and Europe, it does not necessarily mean this was a positive change whose effect went as far as Eco claims. This essay will look progressively at the role of Italian women: starting with their position at home, and then in politics and society, to establish how true Eco’s analysis of the feminist movement is.

When investigating Italian feminism it is critical to understand women’s role prior to the social reforms. Being a woman in Italy was about being a wife and a mother. Neo-realist films, which were designed to reflect life, like ‘Ladri di Biciclette’ portrayed post-war Italian women as housewives who were bound to their home and were at the centre of the family. This was, by proxy, the centre of the country – for Italy is so traditionally dependent on the family unit. Despite this, women had very little authority. The subordinate duties assigned to women earlier during student and workers’ protests resulted in a backlash and resentment against men. Inspired by North American conscious-raising feminist groups, predominantly middle-class Italian women rejected large institutions to meet in small groups to stress upon ‘autocoscienza’ or self-awareness . Although it has never been unusual for women to discuss their lives with one another, these city-based meetings emphasised on literature and finding common ground to facilitate a sense of community. Paulo Bono correctly claimed women’s ‘cultural centres... [are] one of the hallmarks of Italian feminism’ . This tactic was particularly effective as it removed bureaucracy to restructure society from the bottom up. Women enhanced philosophies on marriage and realised they should be romantic rather than sacrosanct or economic . Feminist groups such as ‘Rivolta Femminile’ formed to oppose marriage as ‘the site of male domination’ . Subsequently the Divorce Law was passed in 1974, many years after France, suggesting Italy was not particularly revolutionary. Nevertheless, this was the first drastic step in changing the definition of a ‘wife’ and explains the rise in divorce, remarriage, co-habiting couples, children born out of wedlock and ‘prolonged adulthood’ - where women live with their parents until it is biologically too late to have children, or are discouraged by the increased financial dependency they now bring . Following their duty as literal ‘wives’ was Italian women’s obligation as ‘housewives’. Radicals like ‘Lotta Feminista’ entwined their feminist ideologies with those against capitalism , paralleling their views with Marxism – whilst also remaining highly aware of Marx’s ignorance of the unpaid work women do. This brought about ‘wages for housework’ : a movement highlighting women as extremely useful assets to the economy because they can produce a whole generation of labourers. They demanded financial and social recognition and fewer hours . The campaign brought women’s role into question and denounced the Italian workplace as misogynistic and unfair. Women were starting to gain control of their lives.

The next and most deep-rooted perception of womanhood is their ‘inherent’ role as mothers. It is the general consensus that Italian women were opposing Catholic and Fascist ideologies which encourage stereotypical notions by preaching ‘war is to man what motherhood is to woman’ , through schemes such as Mussolini’s ‘Battle for Births’. Now Italy has a falling birth rate of 1.39 children per woman – a perplexing statistic as ninety percent of Italians are Roman Catholic, a sect with traditionally large families. Only one third of the Italian Catholic population is actually practising . Due to very similar trends in Catholic Spain we may debate whether the movement from the religion, preaching women’s subservience to men , is a cause or an effect of Italian feminism. The slogan 'l'utero è mio e lo gestisco io' (‘the womb is mine and I will look after it’) beautifully encapsulates Italian women’s biggest success: access to civil rights. Women’s fiction such as ‘La Ragazza con La Treccia’ reflects concerns regarding pregnancy conflicting with personal interests. In the story we see a fifteen year old girl going to a backstreet clinic because, until 1978, abortion was illegal and could result in five years in prison . Having played a part in the legalisation of divorce, the Radical Party also had a big role in winning the referendum for abortion. The impetus of Italian feminism came from this intertwining with politics and controversial subject matter which interested many. The legalisation of contraception in 1971 and then abortion has since reduced the likelihood of health complications due to clinics being monitored, made it easier for women to have careers (a topic yet to be explored) and also – as mentioned earlier- led to a falling birth rate. The outcome is a declining, ageing population, which has meant less revenue from taxes - making it extremely difficult for rural areas in particular to develop - and is undermining the pension system . Places like Laviano, a Napolese village, are offering up to ten thousand Euros – in addition to the one thousand Euro 2003 ‘baby bonus’ initiative which was introduced by Berlusconi in an attempt to bring up the birth-rate to at least replacement level . The problem is country-wide as the Northern Lombardy region is providing four and a half thousand Euros to women who do not have an abortion . Women are now in control and actually being paid to be mothers – at the cost of social balance.

Hitler and Mussolini both believed women had no role in the workplace but should know how to be a housewife. As stated earlier, the movement emphasised on improving and understanding the self. Therefore, many women reject or delay marriage and motherhood for education, where more graduate than men - and with better grades . As Lumley points out, 'feminists began to supply goods and services for the market they had helped to create' . But despite all of their attempts, there still seems an intrinsic sexism and patriarchy present in Italy which we cannot ignore. Pay rates around seventeen percent less than males, and the unlikely chance of being in a high-powered job, indicates a gender gap we would be more accustomed to seeing in a less economically developed country . This could suggest why so few women are prevalent in government positions. Women’s suffrage was put into effect in June 1946 because of their efforts during the Fascist regime. Perhaps this heightened their self-belief that they would be able to dictate their own lives and bring women’s issues to the forefront of a chiefly masculine cabinet. However, member of the Italian Senate, Emma Bonino claimed ‘power is always negotiated among the usual group of men’ and believes a restructuring is required for women to be taken seriously in politics. Feminist conflicts with Catholic principles, so integral to Italian politics, would mean we would expect to see a withdrawal of women’s votes for the Christian Democrats following 1968. They did fall and were replaced in 1994 by Forza Italia, the party led by Berlusconi. Although fifty-five percent of their votes came from women, this does not necessarily indicate the success of Italian feminism . In a recent survey conducted by RAI, more than sixty percent of Berlusconi’s voters claimed they would support him again - regardless of accusations of having sex with an underage prostitute , being obviously misogynistic by calling the predominantly female Spanish cabinet ‘too pink’ and apparently appointing ministers based on their looks . This conveys how little the Italian feminist movement has progressed.

It has been argued that the changes following the revolts in 1968 were inevitable, but accelerated , due to an increasingly modernised Italy. If we dissected Lepore’s opinion in regards to all the aspects covered, it would seem very plausible. For instance, women’s access to the vote and work would have been necessary to fuel Italy’s development and rapid involvement in world economies. Eventually this would fabricate a female market. As urban areas became more cosmopolitan, there would be a natural exchange of opinions and a gradual movement away from ‘born into’ religions, i.e. Catholicism. Better healthcare and the need to work would lead to fewer births, digressing from Catholic ideals. Although this essay has highlighted the positive effects of the movement, it predominantly believes Eco was overly optimistic in his evaluation of Italy’s influence in Europe because the process of dismantling stereotypes, so engrained in Italian culture, is still in its infancy. After reading Sarah Vine’s opinions where she writes ‘The quiet power-play is what feminism in Italy is really all about. It is not feminism in the traditional sense of the word’ , it has become clear that we cannot really determine the success of Italian feminism if our cultures are so obviously different. Effects have clearly been more positive for Italian women than the country as a whole. The movement was about the self but one of the reasons Italian feminism had the resonance it did was because it was ‘an era of collective action’ . During protests, from December 1967-February 1968, students abandoned norms and females would reject heels for trousers in protest . Women were becoming involved in politics. It is this communal anti-establishment attitude and desire for a utopian society that made the revolts acceptable, even embraceable, and was the driving force behind their success. It is why there are so many new communities and so much more opportunity for Italian women today. In that sense, Eco was correct: ‘relations...[will] never be the same again’.