Fino a che punto si può ridere delle donne? Libertà di satira e sessismo

In a liberal perspective it is a commonplace that satire should not have constraints. In this paper I try to resist to this idea, arguing that satire should not be sexist and in this way not exceed the respect for women. I will proceed in this way. Section 2 will explain what satire is, and how it is connected to humour and comicality. Section 3 will elucidate the link between satire and the right to freedom of expression, also analyzing the legal limits to the latter. Section 4, starting from a specific cartoon about an Italian minister, will analyze if and how satire can be sexist, and suggest that the mode of operation of satire and humour could be direspectful in a way that liberal society cannot tolerate.