gender/sexuality/italy is an online annual, peer-reviewed journal that publishes research on gendered identities and the ways they intersect with and produce Italian politics, culture, and society.
by Serena Bassi
Serena Bassi suggests that we rethink what the relationship between social change and evolution of language usage might look like. To offer a different perspective on the subject, she asks how a Translation Studies paradigm helps us reflect on the “gay rights” vocabularies that have appeared in various guises in Italy since the 1960s. In English.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.15781/vhpj-pr19
by Cinzia Russi
Cinzia Russi demonstrates how Darla “be promiscuous, of women” and darlo “engage in sodomy” first appear in the sixteenth century; in the late twentieth century, darlo acquires the meaning of “have sex, of men” (same as darla but without the connotation of “easiness”). While darla is well established in the average speaker’s lexicon, darlo (in both meanings) remains highly marginal.
by Michela Baldo, Serena Bassi, Juliet Guzzetta, Cinzia Russi
This roundtable was organized by Nicoletta Marini-Maio, Editor of gender/sexuality/italy, and Michela Baldo at the American Association for Italian Studies annual convention in Baton Rouge (AAIS) in April 2016. The presenters covered such topics as language inclusivity, misogynistic and asymmetrical uses of language, heteronormativity and homophobia in language, gender asymmetry in historical linguistics, grammatical norms, and trasnlingual practices. A lively discussion among the roundtable presenters and audience followed.
by Cecilia Robustelli and Nicoletta Marini-Maio
This interview provides a panorama of the institutional intiatives on the issue of gender and language in Italy since the creation of the Comitato nazionale di parità in 1983 and the publication of Alma Sabatini’s seminal study Il sessismo nella lingua italiana in 1987 to date. Robustelli argues that because of its ample scope including linguistic, cognitive, and cultural aspects, Sabatini’s work has not only raised the interest of feminist groups,
by Ellen Nerenberg
A brief summary of essays included in g/s/i no. 3 Open Perspectives
DOI: https://doi.org/10.15781/8aa3-jr63
by Laura Zambelli
In this article I develop some reflections on my research on BDSM (bondage, domination and submission, sadism and masochism) in Italy. I comment the success of the book Fifty Shades paralleled by a tepid welcome received from the BDSM community of Milan, Italy. Empirical research on BDSM in Italy is, and was, not widespread; I briefly present the existing academic literature. Then, I reflect on the connections between BDSM and feminism both internationally and in the Italian context,
by Simone Fornara
Picture books are a genre of children’s literature with enormous educational potential. Their use in classrooms is currently spreading and should be further encouraged. Picture books are particularly suitable for the treatment of sensitive issues, such as those related to gender. For this reason, many educational projects are focused on reading picture books and aim at promoting them, in and outside of the classroom. But in reality, these projects have to face opposite points of view,
by Lisa Dolasinski
This article examines the precarious masculinity performed by Nader Sarhan, the male migrant protagonist featured in Claudio Giovannesi’s Alì ha gli occhi azzurri (2012). The theoretical framework draws on scholarship from postcolonial studies, film theory, queer theory, and gender studies. In particular, following recent work on representations of non-national male migrant film protagonists as “queer” and thus inassimilable to the national Italian body, the author contends that Nader’s desire for “white,” hegemonic masculinity (sexual and civic) ultimately results in his own undoing.
by Jessica Sciubba
This article explores the trajectories of moral and bodily abjection in Rhoda by Igiaba Scego. Drawing principally on Judith Butler’s theory of social abjection and on her critique of the heteronormative discourse, this article identifies the importance of the heteronormative imperative in the shaping of gender roles and points at the abject status acquired by those identities that do not conform to this norm. The complexity of Rhoda’s relationship with her body and with her sexuality represents a key point in the further developments of her abjectifying trajectory;
Book Review: Italian Masculinity as Queer Melodrama: Caravaggio, Puccini, Contemporary Cinema by John Champagne
by Matthew Zundel
DOI: https://doi.org/10.15781/8f5d-m194
