Invisible Protagonists. On Italian Lesbian Feminism and Butches between Feminism and Transfeminism

Abstract

Fifty years after Stonewall, Italian lesbian activism is deeply divided on various issues. On one side, the feminists of ArciLesbica, self-described radical lesbians, who are opposed to the commodification of the woman's body and surrogacy, as well as being hostile to "queer fluidification". On the opposite side of the spectrum are a complex galaxy of movements and acronyms that recognize themselves in transfeminism and in an intersectional struggle against gender violence. Without the pretense of pacifying the ongoing conflicts, this article attempts to rethink the current public discourse, beginning with a reflection on the contribution of lesbians to the elaboration of a political culture and a way of life capable of challenging the sexual binarism. This rethinking will shed a new light on the Italian lesbian-feminist movement of the 1980s and the history of queer theories.

Keywords: Italian lesbian activism, lesbian-feminism, butch-femme, queer theory.