We are family: the conflict between conservative movements and feminists

Between 29 and 31 March 2019, the city of Verona hosted the thirteenth World Congress of Families (WCF) – an international event aimed at celebrating the ‘natural family’ as well as discussing the manifold challenges created for it by the contemporary socio-political context. Far from being an occasion to develop scientific and critical reflections, the WCF used the natural family as a veil beneath which to propagate a radically conservative view on issues linked to sex, gender, sexuality and, ultimately, on women and LGBTQI identities and roles within our societies. In these circumstances, the city of Verona became the setting for a revamping of the opposition between two radically opposing movements. On the one hand, a conservative movement opposing the so-called ‘gender ideology’, with close connections with political representatives of the Italian Lega. On the other, a broad range of initiatives largely detached from Italian parties and that mobilized under the umbrella of the movement Non Una Di Meno (NUDM) aimed to reclaim rights to self-determination and to fight all forms of gender-based violence and of oppression. This article outlines the basic contours of what remains a central field of contention in Italian politics and society. After tracing the origins of the WCF, it describes the main traits and strategies of the two opposing movements. Finally, it considers the ramifications of this conflict within the Italian party arena, looking in particular at the close connections between the conservative 'anti-gender' movement and the Lega led by Matteo Salvini.