The (re)production of (in)equality in Italy : feminisms and reproductive labour in the era of populism
Capitolo
Data di Pubblicazione:
2020
Citazione:
The (re)production of (in)equality in Italy : feminisms and reproductive labour in the era of populism / E.A.G. Arfini, B. Busi - In: Theorising Cultures of Equality / [a cura di] S. Clisby, M. Johnson & J. Turner. - [s.l] : Routledge, 2020. - ISBN 9781138571242. - pp. 76-93
Abstract:
Drawing on the history of the feminist movement and the contemporary Italian debate, this chapter reflects on the case of reproductive labour as a site for the production of political cultures of (in)equality. By combining a genealogical perspective on Italian feminisms, current statistical data, and feminist political theory, we will look at reproductive labour as a paradigmatic case for a gendered reading of the crisis (Walby 2015) in its intersection with class and racial inequalities. Reproductive labour has been a major area of feminist contestation since the 1970s, and has recently gained a renewed attention in feminist materialist analyses. Within Europe, Italian women spend the highest amount of time in domestic work (Harmonised European Time Use Survey, 2005-2007). Contemporary feminist struggles must work against the backdrop of the current national political situation, characterized by the crisis of left-wing political parties and union organizations, and by the rise of sovereigntism, populism, nativism and conservative catholic forces. Paired with the reduction in welfare spending and austerity measures, such a landscape has intensified both the neofundamentalist re-domesticization of reproductive labour and its neoliberal externalization to the racialized labour market of care work. The chapter concludes with a reflection on contemporary feminist movements in Italy, with particular attention to their intersectional alliances and the transnational circulation of political cultures.
Tipologia IRIS:
03 - Contributo in volume
Keywords:
reproductive labour; Italian feminisms; sexual difference; Wages for Housework; populism
Elenco autori:
E.A.G. Arfini, B. Busi
Link alla scheda completa:
Titolo del libro:
Theorising Cultures of Equality