Building a 'counter-community of emotions': feminist encounters and socio-cultural difference in 1970s Turin

Bracke, M. (2012) Building a 'counter-community of emotions': feminist encounters and socio-cultural difference in 1970s Turin. Modern Italy, 17(2), pp. 223-236. (doi: 10.1080/13532944.2012.665283)

Abstract

The article analyses cross-class encounters within 1970s feminist campaigning from the perspective of the history of emotions. It is based on a case study of a feminist women's sexual health clinic (consultorio autogestito) in a working-class district near Turin, the Falchera, in the mid-1970s. The article investigates the role played by emotions in the creation of a sense of community among women from different socio-economic and educational backgrounds. The encounters between feminist activists from Turin and working-class women living at the Falchera are understood as framed by these emotional exchanges, which led the women involved to question in new ways their own life-stories, aspirations and understanding of libertà. It is argued that these exchanges led to a reshaping of feminist politics at the grass-roots, specifically in the articulation of strongly situated notions of liberation. The analysis is based on original interviews and interviews published at the time.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Bracke, Professor Maud
• Authors: Bracke, M.
• Subjects: D History General and Old World > DG Italy; H Social Sciences > HN Social history and conditions. Social problems. Social reform
• College/School: College of Arts & Humanities > School of Humanities > History
• Journal Name: Modern Italy
• Publisher: Routledge (Taylor & Francis)
• ISSN: 1353-2944
• ISSN (Online): 1469-9877
• Published Online: 24 April 2012