This picture was taken during the (trans)feminist demonstration against the World Congress of Families (WCF) held in Verona in March 2019. The text reads: “For my pleasure, not to give children to God. No WCF”.
After a period of fragmentation, Italian (trans)feminist mobilizations gained national momentum in 2016 when, inspired by the Argentinian movement Ni Una Menos (Not One Less) and catalyzed by tragic femicides in the country, several grassroots groups came together to form the network Non Una di Meno (NUDM). Since then, Italian (trans)feminism has developed into a new phase of mobilization, marked by hybrid actions that combine on-the-ground and online collective efforts with extensive processes of coalition-building to end systemic gender-based violence and discrimination, and to achieve genuine intersectional social justice.
Nonetheless these mobilizations have faced two main strands of opposition, particularly over the last five years. On the one hand, they have been marked by tensions internal to the feminist sector, with self-called ‘radical feminists’ aligning with anti-gender organizations and right-wing parties on trans exclusionary, anti sex work, and anti-surrogacy stances. On the other, collaborations between anti-gender groups and right-wing parties have increasingly succeeded in undermining the rights of marginalized communities, in particular reproductive rights, migrants’ and asylum seekers’ rights, access to healthcare for trans* individuals and LGBTQIA+ civil rights.
Against this backdrop, Italian (trans)feminist groups have developed diverse reactive and proactive response strategies, ranging from protests and vigils to practices of care and community-building. Since 2016, mobilizations have taken place regularly for the transfeminist global strike on March 8th, International Safe Abortion Day on September 28th, and the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women on November 25th. Furthermore, ad hoc mobilizations against anti-gender campaigns and events have multiplied. A notable example is the national demonstration against the World Congress of Families (WCF) held in Verona in 2019. This massive protest, which drew hundreds of thousands from across Italy, showed both opposition to the WCF (a renowned anti-gender gathering) and the imagination of different communities built around practices of care; such as trans* individuals’ creation of self-help groups to share experiences, advise and support each other on their gender affirmation paths.
In parallel, (trans)feminist actors have increasingly engaged in knowledge production as a tool to resist and respond to anti-gender, sexist, racist, classist and ableist contents and discourses. One key practice is the mapping (mappatura) of professionals, hospitals, health centers, and institutions that are (not) supportive of people seeking abortion care and other reproductive rights, and of LGBTQIA+ individuals, particularly trans* people. While doing so, (trans)feminist groups also collected and shared online testimonies of positive and negative experiences with the healthcare system, as well as with particular professionals. Mapping hence entails listing (not) friendly professionals and institutions, and, at the same time, showcasing the direct experiences of individuals dealing with them. This provides marginalized communities with shared knowledge that not only safeguards them from aggressions and attacks, but also allows them to go beyond pathologization and discrimination.
In this context, the internet, and particularly social media platforms like Instagram, play a crucial role in amplifying the knowledge produced through mapping. Social media enables (trans)feminist organizations not only to share widely the information they collect but also to reach wider and more diverse audiences, connect with other communities, and foster the development of care networks and alliances.
The practice of mapping has become an integral part of the repertoire of Italian trans-feminist responses to exclusionary attacks, serving as a powerful tool for collective networking across diverse positionalities and lived experiences. Indeed, the practice of mapping opens a space for different stories to be recounted, for victim blaming to be deconstructed and for new imaginaries of care and solidarity to be envisioned. Thus, mapping is not only a practice of resistance but also a practice of existence. On the one hand, it enhances the creation of grassroots counter-knowledge that defies exclusionary discourses and discriminatory practices. On the other, it fosters the circulation of generative narratives, the creation of caring communities, and the exploration of concrete alternatives to, as bell hooks put it, ‘white-supremacist capitalist patriarchy’.
Authors: Aurora Perego and Elena Pavan, Università degli Studi di Trento. 13th January 2025