Queer Italia Network

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Until the 1990s, 'queer' was largely understood as a term of abuse for homosexuals. Since then, it has been reclaimed by activists and scholars seeking to validate identities and sexualities that trouble or transgress social norms: these include the notion that monogomous, reproductive heterosexuality is the standard, and that any other forms of desire or sexual practice are 'deviations'. 'Queer' is often taken to mean any way of being that is at odds with what is considered 'normal'. Research on queer experiences in the Italian context is urgently required for three reasons: 1) In Italy, there is still no national legislation to protect the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual/transgender and queer (LGBTQ) individuals, and campaigns to combat discrimination, to tackle homophobic bullying in schools, to protect LGBTQ asylum seekers, and to challenge prejudice are under attack from groups such as the 'Sentinelle in piedi' (Standing Sentinels) who oppose initiatives that seek to protect the rights of LGBTQ individuals. This situation means that discrimination is widespread, and victims have no recourse to the law to protect them. 2) Very little research on queer lives and phenomena has been carried out in Italy, partly because the Italian academy is generally resistant to queer theories and methodologies, including critical and interdisciplinary analyses of social and cultural constructions of race, ethnicity, sexuality, and gender. Despite this, the Italian context offers a wealth of queer thought and activism that demands critical attention in order to understand more fully the changing expressions and experiences of sexuality. This project will also analyse important dissenting voices that denounce sexual and racial discrimination, for example, including amongst communities of LGBTQ immigrants and refugees seeking asylum due to sexual discrimination. This will reinvigorate debate on a crucial aspect of human experience and will contribute in important ways to multiple academic disciplines (including Literary Studies, History of Sexuality, Gender and Sexuality Studies, Human Geography, Sociology, Cultural and Media Studies), as well as to policy (the Project Team (PT) will write a paper making research recommendations on issues of LGBTQ rights). 3) While many established scholars have called for wider engagement with queer ideas and perspectives that have emerged in different linguistic contexts, queer theories continue to remain focussed on the Anglophone world, and have not yet entered into dialogue with Italian thought on sexual and other forms of dissidence. However, as mentioned, the Italian tradition offers a rich array of theoretical positions and cultural interventions, including activism and contemporary performance art, that might contextualize, challenge and reshape existing Anglophone theories. Dialogue with contemporary and historical radical Italian thought on sexuality, as well as with cultural practitioners who tackle this and other queer subjects through art or theatre, may also enable queer studies scholars to overcome what some see as stumbling blocks in current thinking.The project will focus on the following questions:1) Theories and Practices: How have Anglophone queer theories been received in Italy and what queer perspectives and practices have developed in Italian culture? How might transnational dialogues foster larger academic and social investigations and understanding of both the Anglophone and Italian queer contexts?2) Representation and Reappropriation: How are queer lives, moments and politics represented in Italian media and culture, and how do queer perspectives impact on and provide alternatives to dominant contemporary and historical media forms?3) Interstitial Spaces/Temporalities: What insights can be gained from queer theoretical and creative explorations of class, sex, gender, race, and migration that focus on intersectionality and inbetweenness?