1Governmental efforts in the context of the implementation of gender-responsive educational projects have been promptly opposed and blocked in different ways. This has happened, especially since 2013, through petitions, peaceful actions and protests, political lobbying, legal actions and cultural mobilisation, through the “anti-gender” conferences and initiatives previously mentioned (Avanza, 2015).

2The first part of this investigation (Phase 1) is centred on the implementation of educational projects at a local level, specifically in the municipality of Cagliari, Sardinia. I therefore focus on the obstacles posed to the development and implementation of these projects. Thanks to the contribution of the main projects’ coordinators, I have the opportunity to outline the main steps of the implementation of some of the projects, while attempting to understand the ways in which these projects have been boycotted. The objective of this section is to understand at what level these obstacles arise, and in what form, in order to be able to develop strategies to engage with them at a later date.

3Based on the hypothesis of the presence of a strong confusion of terms and meanings related to gender issues broadly speaking, and specifically to gender issues in education, the second phase of my investigation (Phase 2) explores public opinion in Italy. In particular, I consider some of the ways it is shaped and reinforced. In order to do so, I look at (a) the role of newspapers and the way they present these issues to the public; (b) the role of civil society and campaigns, which specifically lead “anti-gender” initiatives; (c) the declarations of representatives of the Catholic Church. The objective of this section is to understand the environment and the general perception of these issues. Understanding public opinion also provides us with an understanding of how teachers, school managers and parents are informed about these issues, and how they are consequently influenced in their responses and reactions.

Phase 1: three projects in Cagliari

4This phase of the Analysis observes the implementation of different educational projects, which represent efforts at a local level to integrate a gender perspective into education. More precisely, three projects are central to this analysis: Alla scoperta della differenza, Ci piacCiAmo! … anche in biblioteca, and SAVE. The first two projects are directed specifically to children between primary and lower-secondary educational establishments. The last one targeted specifically teachers.

5For each project I present its objectives and its planned structure, the actors at the centre of its organisation, and its actual implementation. Moreover, for each project, I outline some remarks concerning the obstacles its coordinators had to face. In conclusion, I highlight differences and similarities in the implementation of the different projects and, more specifically, in the obstacles they encountered. The objective of this analysis is precisely to understand at what level these obstacles arise, and in what form. This insight will make it possible to develop strategies to engage with them and make a stand against them.

6For the description of the projects, I collected information through the websites of the different associations and coordinators, through material provided directly by their coordinators and through the interviews conducted with them. It was these conversations in particular that enabled me to outline the ways in which the obstacles unravelled.

Alla scoperta della differenza

Main actors

7The Alla scoperta della differenza (Discovering diversity) project was funded by the Commission for Equal Opportunities of the City of Cagliari. More precisely, on 3 December 2013, the Commission issued a call for proposals, for projects meant to deconstruct gender stereotypes through educational solutions, for a total amount of 8,500 euros. In particular, the main objectives presented were:

• To combat gender stereotypes that produce segregation and limit the full expression and fulfilment of one’s self.

• To make children reflect on their own gender identity and their own aspirations and wishes.

• To show how children have a certain perception of themselves based on their gender identity.

• To lead children to think about discrimination and about the positivity of “diversity”.

• To promote and spread a culture of equality among teachers, families and other educational staff involved in the project, to create a shared path meant to deconstruct discriminatory logic and to promote integration of diversity, while fighting the fundamental causes of gender-based discrimination, gender-based violence and homophobia.

8Three broader objectives were defined as:

• To acquire the knowledge and skills required to exercise citizenship and responsible development.

• To integrate diversity.

• To integrate the school and the districts.

9The initial call for proposals indicated three preferred schools as the primary schools of the municipality of Pirri and in the Mulinu Becciu district in Cagliari. As indicated by the former president of the Commission, the initial choice of institutions was determined by an investigation that intended to look at the availability of funding and projects of the schools all over the Cagliari territory. In fact, the schools chosen were among the ones to have received less funding and projects in the previous academic year.

10On 30 December 2013, the Commission officially assigned the Alla scoperta della differenza project to the Social Cooperative Agape. Agape is a Social Cooperative that centres its work on activities based on “social assistance and psycho-educational services” (Agape, 2014). The fundamental objective of their work is to create better opportunities for their clients, planning, carrying out and managing consultant operations and support for people and services all over Sardinia. They thus manifest a particular interest in mental health-related issues and in creating support for people with disabilities. The director of the cooperative pointed out that the work it does is rooted in the expertise and competence of its professionals, who are extensively trained to work in delicate situations, such as in an educational context.

11Agape, through the work of a psychologist, took charge of the part of the project designed for children in the classroom. The representatives of the Social Cooperative then contacted the association Se non ora, quando (“If not now, when”), to ask them to take charge of the part of the projects designed for families, teachers and other educational staff involved in the lives of the children. This association was created by a number of women from different backgrounds, coming from different feminist groups and associations, from the world of politics, education and journalism, with the specific intent to make women’s voices heard in Italy. The association has offices all over Italy: the one involved in the Alla scoperta della differenza project is the Sardinian office, based in the city of Cagliari.

The project

12The first part of the project, targeting children and led by Agape’s psychologist was composed of two sub-parts. First of all, the children were required to fill out a questionnaire of 15 questions. This would help to frame and elaborate the following part of the project, which was planned to be composed of a series of simple activities, especially games, designed to treat themes such as gender roles and gender stereotypes. This project did not intend to tackle sexual differences, gender identity or sexual orientation. The interviewee highlighted that they believed that the “field” was not ready to engage with these issues, due to a lack of awareness campaigns.

13The questionnaire was elaborated by using and readapting some of the items in a questionnaire distributed in 25 primary schools in other cities in the rest of Italy. It was divided into two sections: the first nine questions were meant to understand the way children conceive of what it means to talk about something being masculine or feminine. Moreover, it intended to identify the most frequent gender stereotypes, concerning for example what constitutes feminine and masculine characteristics per se. The second section of the questionnaire, composed of six questions, more specifically intended to investigate the children’s perception of professions as masculine or feminine.

14The second part of the project consisted of activities to be carried out by the psychologist directly in the classroom: for example, working with images and with the realities that are more personal and closer to children. The questionnaire could be useful in framing this part of the project more precisely to this purpose.

15As previously noted, the association Se non ora, quando (SNOQ) was in charge of the part of the project targeting parents, teachers and other educational staff, to effectively involve them in the execution of the project. The main objective of this initiative was to “activate” the understanding of diversity as a value. Because of this, these sessions were meant to tackle issues related to the realities where gender-based discrimination too often occurs in our society, such as the family and the school, engaging specifically with questions related to stereotypes and how they are communicated. These sessions were planned with the intent to be dynamic and to put parents’ thoughts at their centre, to stimulate their reasoning and opinions. The materials for such activities were books, stories, games and videos. Three main sessions were initially planned.

Implementation

16When it was time to implement the projects, the cooperative Agape realised that the school managers had not been previously informed about the projects: therefore, they needed to contact them themselves. At this point, the school managers would have had to present the projects to their teachers, and ideally certain teachers would have been keen to participate and, therefore, would volunteer their classes. However, this is not how it turned out. Some school managers did not even allow the conversation to start, while in some other cases, the project was halted at a second stage.

17For example, Agape’s representatives organised a meeting with different representatives of one of the schools, the Istituto comprensivo Colombo, involving the school manager and teachers. Some of the teachers seemed particularly interested in the project, while others demonstrated some doubts, especially concerning the potential reactions of parents to the initiative. From the outset, some parents attempted to thwart the project, and their initiatives led some of the teachers who were initially interested to turn down the opportunity. In the course of the interviews I was not able to find out precisely how many parents were involved in this opposition. However, all the experts specified that they were few in number, but that their opposition was strong and united. In this specific case, the school manager defended the project and attempted to push for its implementation, organising some preliminary meetings with the parents and sharing the information (such as the questionnaire) with them to make them more comfortable with the content of the project. However, one group of parents was very determined to put a stop to it. By mounting a strong campaign on social media, they put enough pressure on the school manager and the other school representatives to have the project officially stopped.

18As a result of this strong opposition, none of the three schools that were initially considered in the call for proposals by the Commission was willing to integrate the initiative Alla scoperta della differenza. At this point, the Cooperative Agape, with the help of the Commission for Equal Opportunities, was able to identify another school that approved it. In this specific case, the school manager of the Istituto comprensivo Ciusa was familiar with Agape’s work in other instances and trusted their expertise.

19At the beginning of September, Agape organised a meeting with the school manager and the teachers to present the various steps of the project, and to establish the dates for each activity, together with the association SNOQ. Between the months of September and October, Agape organised sessions for all teachers from the second to the fifth grade of primary school, for a total of 12 teachers, all women. Through three sessions, each lasting two hours, the cooperative stimulated a conversation about gender stereotypes, specifically identifying a link with the different subjects taught at school. As a conclusion of the session, the professionals provided some possible ways for teachers to integrate a gender approach to their daily lessons. After that, they organised one introductory meeting to explain the different steps of the project to the parents, which 16 parents attended.

20SNOQ took charge of additional sessions specifically directed to the parents and other educational staff of the school. These meetings were supposed to take place on 18 November, 3 December and 19 December 2014. At the first meeting, no one showed up. At the second meeting, five people attended: two mothers, one grandmother and two staff members. The session was particularly focused on the theme of stereotypes, prejudices and different forms of discrimination. The third session was not met with any response, and once more, no one attended.

21Next, the project took place in the classrooms, involving in total 66 children (41 boys and 25 girls), of which 16 were from the third year of primary school, 15 from the fourth year and 35 from the fifth, for an age range between 7 and 10 years old, in a total of five classes. After presenting the questionnaire to the children, the activities were carried out by the professional psychologist of the Cooperative Agape through three sessions, each lasting two hours, for each class. The teachers actively participated in the different activities and were fundamental in seeing the project through to a successful conclusion.

22A report provided by Agape and the Commission for Equal Opportunities shows the results of the questionnaire¹. For example, some of the games and toys identified as “for boys” include playing soccer, playing basketball, using little toy cars and airplanes (identified as masculine especially by the girls) and pretending to fight, or to box (identified as masculine especially by the boys). The games and toys identified as “for girls” are playing with dolls and dancing, putting make-up on or playing as a hairdresser. It is important to note that an evaluation of these results needs to be taken into account, also in relation to the population of the schools. In fact, it is certainly possible to argue that other elements come into play in the different choices identified by children, such as pressures and influences related to social status, for example.

23On 2 July 2015, the Commission for Equal Opportunities organised a session to discuss the project and to give a voice to the Social Cooperative Agape, the association SNOQ, and the teachers and school managers of the school where the project was carried out, and also to deal with the opposition put up by the associations Sentinelle in Piedi and Associazione famiglie numerose. This session was open to the public.

Remarks

24Some considerations concerning the obstacles encountered, especially thanks to the conversations with the interviewees, can be provided.

25All experts highlighted the political dynamics that came into play. The implementation of this project came at a time of political elections in Sardinia, specifically on 16 February 2014, which saw Francesco Pigliaru, from the centre-left party Partito Democratico (Democratic Party, PD), elected President of the Autonomous Region of Sardinia. School managers themselves are part of the political dynamics, as they are part of the politics of the districts where their schools operate. Therefore, a great deal of political pressure was brought to bear, and defending or opposing these projects became a political issue. The opposition was expressed strongly against the City Administration, specifically referring to the Mayor’s intentions and his political agenda.

26Nevertheless, the nature of the opposition should also be explored. The leaders of this movement were the associations affiliated with the Catholic Church, the Associazione Famiglie Numerose and the Sentinelle in Piedi. According to the experts, it seemed that the people openly opposing these projects did not read the actual project and its description: in fact, a strong campaign of misinformation was carried out, showing an obvious lack of knowledge concerning the content of the project. The opposition was strongly directed against the Commission for Equal Opportunities of the City Administration and the Mayor, and particularly the association SNOQ. This could possibly be due to its nature as an association composed of women activists and because it had reportedly previously supported the candidature of Massimo Zedda as the Mayor of Cagliari in 2011. SNOQ’s president underlines that some of the attacks particularly focused on the association as a feminist organisation, referring to feminism with a negative connotation. Some of the misinformation provided by the associations, especially on Facebook, was for example related to the amount of funds directed to the project, sums which were always exaggerated. On WhatsApp, groups of parents would share false information about the content of the projects, making (inaccurate) reference to the World Health Organisation (WHO) and German Federal Centre for Health Education (BZgA) framework of “Standards for sexuality education”.

27All the coordinators highlighted the need to involve parents and relatives in order to actually have an impact. However, they also recognised that this is a very delicate and complex issue. They stressed the importance of preparing parents to understand these issues. The members of the associations at the front line of the opposition did not numerically constitute a large group of people. However, they were very vocal about their disapproval and very active, carrying out specific (and aggressive) campaigns, and spreading information through WhatsApp and Facebook, as mentioned earlier. The main problem is that there was not a strong and united block in favour of the projects, except for the association and social cooperative involved in the project, the City Administration and the association ARC onlus Cagliari², which expressed and reiterated their support for the initiative. However, the experts argue that parents were not properly aware of the issues at stake and, therefore, they tended to be influenced by those parents who were active members of those associations.

28Concerning the actual implementation of the project in the Istituto Comprensivo Ciusa, and the absence of parents in the sessions run by SNOQ, the coordinators believe that the difficulties might have depended on the complicated situations of the students and their families. In fact, issues of gender equality did not seem to be a priority.

29Overall, all experts highlighted in different ways one main problem: a strong lack of general awareness. There is no way to properly defend these projects, present them and explain them step by step, because people are given a tremendous amount of misinformation, which reinforces their fears and their misunderstanding. Political agendas and interests come to the fore, with politicians exploiting this misinformation, so that efforts are strongly opposed simply because a specific political party is putting the proposals forward.

Ci piacCiAmo! … anche in biblioteca  

The project

30The project Ci piacCiAmo! was organised by the cultural association Menabó, which conducts cultural activities with the purpose of knowledge sharing, and in particular to spread scientific, historical, archaeological, artistic and cultural knowledge. Many of its activities are centred on the fight against all types of discrimination. The members of the association strongly believe in the power of education: acting with the young so that they can contribute to creating and reinforcing models based on mutual respect.

31In 2013, the educators of this association decided to build a project around illustrated books for children. Strongly aware of the importance and potential of the messages often found (indirectly and directly) in these publications, they decided to construct a project that could address differences and diversity. Differences need to be interpreted in their broad meaning, including gender differences, differences in sexual orientation, ethnic differences, language differences and religious differences. This project was initially meant for children within their educational institutions, but was also designed to talk to adults “with the images and words of the very young”.³

32On 24 September 2013, the Department of Culture of the city administration (Assessorato alla Cultura) issued a call for proposals of projects meant to strengthen cultural opportunities within public libraries, for the academic year 2014⁴, offering a budget of up to 5,000 euros. The focal point of the projects presented was to be the promotion of reading, and they should be carried out through creative and expressive activities. The main objectives of the projects should be: (a) to stimulate children to see reading as a creative discovery and expression; (b) to foster an image of libraries as a place of exchange, discovery and socialisation for children and the adults involved in their lives; (c) to promote and facilitate teamwork; (d) to facilitate the development of creativity; (d) to promote the integration of diversity.

33It is in this context that the Menabó association adapted their project Ci piacCiAmo! to be carried out specifically with children from 6 to 9 years old, in local public libraries. The association presented a project designed to educate children to recognise gender stereotypes and learn about the widespread actions of discrimination in our society. It then became: Ci piacCiAmo! … anche in biblioteca, which translates to “We like each other! … also in the library”. The name of the project refers to the illustrated book “Ci piacCiAmo!”, by JuanolO, whose fundamental message is that as humans, what we have in common is that we all like each other, and that it does not matter who you like, as long as you like them a lot (JuanolO, 2006).

34The libraries at the centre of the project were the public libraries of the city of Cagliari, the Mediateca del Mediterraneo, the Biblioteca Regina Elena, the Biblioteca G.B. Tuveri, Biblioteca del Lazzaretto di Sant’Elia and the Biblioteca di Pirri.

35The target group included children between the ages of 6 and 9, from five different classrooms, coming from schools geographically close to the libraries of reference. The direct involvement of teachers was included in the project. Moreover, it intended to directly involve the children’s families, who could be asked for example to help them find material that could be useful in carrying out the activities (e.g. images, photos, texts). In the presentation, the Menabó association specifically highlighted the importance of working with adults and families in order to make for a continuity of the activities carried out in class and in the libraries. The fundamental objectives of this project are grouped under four main areas of focus:

1. Deconstruction of gender stereotypes

• To develop critical skills in the context of the recognition of stereotypes.

• To get students used to listening and to comprehending the potential, expectations and needs of others.

• To share the experiences of the value and potential of diversity.

• To experience the positive results of participative and inclusive collaboration, without conflicts.

• To develop a sense of satisfaction in succeeding in understanding one another.

• To promote respect for freedom of all forms of expression

• To spread good inclusive practices.

2. Individual development and awareness

• To facilitate knowledge of themes related to gender-based discrimination.

• To stimulate young people to research all resources and means of information and communication.

• To promote the development of language and educational achievements.

• To give access to cultural expression in all its forms.

• To stimulate individual imagination and creativity.

• To develop manual skills.

• To prepare to engage with different methodologies and types of didactic approach.

• To learn how to recognise and communicate one’s needs.

• To strengthen young people and support them in their pursuit of freedom and security.

• To encourage young people to develop critical skills.

3. Integration and good practice

• To encourage dialogue and peer cooperation.

• To develop the competences and awareness of each participant, to the advantage of an inclusive social life.

• To attain common objectives, with benefits for each member of the community.

• To strengthen the use of information technology.

4. Strengthening of the role of public libraries

• To create and reinforce the habit of reading in the students.

• To stimulate curiosity towards books and the perception of reading as a moment of discovery and creative expression.

• To foster an image of libraries as a place of exchange, discovery and socialisation.

• To create a “listening” habit.

36In order to attain these objectives, the educators of the Menabó association thought up a variety of activities. Their work was centred on illustrated books (e.g. from the publishing house Lo Stampatello and Settenove), through the recognition of the potential of combining written text and drawings, between poetry and prose, and their visual translation and interpretation. Moreover, they intended to present a comparison with books produced in different countries, to allow children to be confronted with different representations of different realities. The main focus of the activities was to work together with the children to construct and understand common objectives. The educators would constantly encourage children to be creative and to stretch their imagination by producing drawings, texts and compositions. In order to do so, the activities would involve different instruments in addition to the illustrated books, such as videos (e.g. shorts and brief documentaries) and music. In total, the educators of the Menabó association devised six sessions for each library, for a total of 30 sessions directly with the children. In addition to these, they also planned for some sessions directed to teachers and library staff.

Implementation

37Menabó’s proposal was accepted by the Assessorato alla Cultura of the city of Cagliari, and obtained the full funding of 5,000 euros, to implement the project between October 2014 and January 2015. First of all, the association asked the representatives of the city administration themselves to make initial contact with the schools, which had been selected according to their geographical proximity to the libraries of reference. Interestingly enough, one of the school managers was actually in charge of two different institutions and, therefore, two different classes of students that then took part in the project. The relevance of this element will become evident.

38Choosing the schools and finally the classes was part of a process. However, some headmasters were not responding positively. When the school manager agreed, then the offer of the project was presented to the teachers, who then volunteered their classes. As a result of negotiations and exchanges, in the end the age range of the students was finally between 5 and 11. This was initially problematic for the educators of the association, since not only they were out of the range for which they had built the project, but also because there was now a six-year age gap. At this point, the educators made sure to adapt the project and its main activities accordingly.

39The teachers of the classes that were finally chosen, according to the coordinators, appeared to be very enthusiastic and ready to cooperate and be actively involved. The opposition started once the activities were already under way: after one session in one of the institutions, one of the educators received a phone call that simply said that it would be better not to continue with the following activities. No additional information was ever provided by the teacher or by the school manager, even after several attempts on the part of the members of the Association Menabó to contact them.

40This shows that even in the schools where the project had been given the green light, not all school managers were fully aware of its nature and, therefore, were not able to defend it. In this specific case, the school manager was also managing another of the institutions involved in the project. In that reality, there were no complaints and the project was successfully carried out. In a third institution, some parents opposed to the project made sure that the class initially selected interrupted the project. However, the school manager, strongly believing in the activities and the opportunities stemming from them, suggested that another class would take their place. In fact, other teachers were interested in involving their own classes. The fourth and fifth school also had no problem or interference: the project was welcomed and carried out in an effective manner, with the involvement of teachers and families.

41When the school actually put a stop to the project, four of the sessions were opened to the public. However, these sessions were boycotted: parents spread the word and in the end no one brought their children to attend them. As in the case of the Alla scoperta della differenza project, the opposition was often filtered by Facebook and by campaigns on WhatsApp.

Remarks

42The interviewees emphasised that the nature of the opposition revealed a fundamental misunderstanding about the objectives and content of the project, with a subsequent campaign of misinformation. The question that arises (and will keep arising in the course of this research) is whether this misinformation is provided by individuals who are conscious of its misguided nature or whether it is the result of an honest misunderstanding. Moreover, the interviewees stated that there are not many people defending these projects and those that do, do not necessarily have the full knowledge and understanding of the purpose of the projects, apart from the actors directly involved in their implementation.

43They emphasised a particular challenge in dealing with the opposition. Sometimes it is difficult to take the criticism seriously, because it seems somehow absurd. Therefore, the instinctive reaction is either to laugh or to react with anger. Both approaches can be problematic and can be detrimental to the implementation of the projects. Moreover, a poor response can also generate a basis for the opposition to develop more easily, having something specific to attack.

44As was the case with the project Alla scoperta della differenza, interviewees underlined the timing with the political election and political pressures. It is important to point out that I did not explicitly ask questions related to political dynamics, but all the experts made spontaneous reference to political interests and agendas in the course of our interviews.

SAVE (Stereotypes and Violence in Education)

The project and its implementation

45The SAVE project was funded by the Department for Equal Opportunities of the Region of Sardinia for the academic year 2015–2016. This project is different from the previous projects, which received funding at the level of the municipality. This project is relevant to this investigation because of its nature and because it belongs to the context of Cagliari. The funding allowed for courses that were free for the participants. The project was carried out by a research team at the University of Cagliari, as part of the Master’s programme in Gender Equality. The activities of the project were directed to teachers and school managers throughout the region, from different levels of schooling. The objective was to provide teachers with the skills to deal with gender issues in the classroom.

46Working with teachers constituted a very specific choice, as they are the ones who can interact with the students on an everyday basis and really impact students’ behaviours and attitudes. It is extremely important to prepare teachers to deal with these issues effectively. Participation in the project was on a voluntary basis: this means that a self-selection bias might be introduced, as only those already interested and/or aware of gender issues in education would participate. However, it should be emphasised that even if teachers are aware of and interested in these issues, they do need guidance and they need to be prepared to deal with these issues delicately and in the appropriate manner. In fact, as the coordinator highlights, even willing and well-meaning teachers can involuntary reinforce specific stereotypes when trying to guide the deconstruction of other ones.

47The specific objectives of the project were to improve teachers’ competences concerning gender-responsive policies and the deconstruction of stereotypes, and to make a first step in a process towards the production of measurable results⁵. The activities were structured in three different phases. The first phase was directed to school managers and the political representatives of the different provinces, in order to illustrate the objectives of the training and the expected results, to involve all participants in the process and to adapt the different parts of the course according to the participants’ needs and expectations. The second phase was composed of eight seminars, which would take place in different parts of the Region of Sardinia, to more fully involve participants all over Sardinia. Through an interactive structure, the courses were directed to teachers and focused on seven main themes:

• The influence of stereotypes on society and in everyday life.

• Nature, structure and transmission of “man” and “woman” stereotypes.

• Stereotypes in the educational context.

• The effect of stereotypes on male-female relationships and on violence against women.

• Different types of gender-based violence.

• The modification and reduction of stereotypes and of their effect on men-women relationships and on violence against women.

• The application of these modification and reduction strategies in the school system.

48The third and last phase of the project was directed towards the participants who were interested in deepening specific knowledge in relation to the different school disciplines and subjects. In this case, the number of participants was limited to 25 per seminar, to allow more exhaustive interaction. Through these seminars, the participants would address specific examples of best practice, to comprehend how to apply the concepts and competences they had acquired and how to adapt them to their own professional reality. The six seminars tackled different issues:

• Gender stereotypes in children literature.

• Breaking down gendered language.

• Disability and gender stereotypes.

• Gender differences in sport.

• Deviance and gender.

• Educating to diversity.

Remarks

49Overall, the course was well received by the public, and there were around 700 participants in total over the region. For this reason, the organisers contacted the regional Commission for additional funding, in order to be able to further develop the project in the course of the following academic year (2016–2017), to accommodate the people who had not previously had the opportunity to participate. However, the Commission had already directed the annual funding towards other projects. Thus, although the project might be renewed, this time the participants would need to pay a fee.

50In the case of this project, there has not been significant opposition. As the coordinator points out, a special effort was made not to mention the term “gender” or “genere” in Italian when advertising the project. However, she received a number of e-mails asking for clarifications about the project, especially because of her role as Professor and coordinator of the Master’s programme in Gender Equality at the University of Cagliari. However, none of this turned into active measures of opposition as we have seen in the case of Alla scoperta della differenza and Ci piacCiAmo! … anche in biblioteca.

Key findings

51The first two projects appear to have a number of similarities. In fact, they were both funded by the City Administration, and they were both directed to children in educational establishments. In both cases, the associations at the centre of the opposition were the Associazione famiglie numerose (as part of the network Forum delle famiglie) and the Sentinelle in piedi. The two projects were developed in the course of the same academic year, 2014–2015. In both cases, with Alla scoperta della differenza and Ci piacCiAmo! … anche in biblioteca, it was possible to identify three fundamental problems, interrelated in many ways, connected to the obstacles they encountered in the implementation of the projects:

• There is a general lack of awareness in all directions and on all sides and, consequently, a lack of effective dialogue. In fact, the “anti-gender” associations demonstrate a misunderstanding of the main concepts and notions at hand. However, this seems to be a problem because the people who could be in a position to defend the projects do not have the means to make their voices heard or to express and formulate their arguments in favour of these initiatives.

• These projects were dragged into the middle of political dynamics, at the centre of clashes between political agendas and interests. This means that projects are often attacked by specific political parties not on the basis of their content, but because they have been proposed and supported by opposing parties. These dynamics can be identified at a local level, and also more broadly at a national level, such as in the example of the different debates surrounding the introduction of the Buona Scuola directive itself.

• The nature of the opposition appears to be mostly of Catholic affiliation. Even where the information about the projects is accurate, there is explicit opposition to some notions that are at the core of gender-responsive educational projects. In fact, the coordinators highlighted the fact that some of the people who opposed the projects have very clearly expressed their understanding of homosexuality as out of the norm and “not natural”, their specific opposition to same-sex unions and their understanding of sexual differences as strongly determined exclusively by biological differences. Even if the projects taken into account do not specifically tackle issues of sexual orientation, they certainly intend to promote respect and the fight against discriminations in all its forms.

52The lack of strong opposition in the case of the SAVE project could be explained by the nature of the project.

53First of all, participation was voluntary. Notably, the representatives of the Social Cooperative Agape, the association Se non ora, quando and the Association Menabó all emphasised that associations leading the opposition often referred to “an imposition” on the schools and the students, perpetuated by the City Administration. The voluntary participation in the SAVE project could, therefore, perhaps constitute an element that is not controversial.

54Moreover, this project was directed exclusively to teachers and school managers. Therefore, there was no direct involvement with children. In fact, as the coordinators of Alla scoperta della differenza and Ci piacCiAmo!... anche in biblioteca” pointed out, one of the slogans often used against their actions was: “Giù le mani dai nostri figli!”, which literally translates to “keep your hands off our children”.

55Thirdly, the focus of the project concerned the issue of violence in an educational environment. Most likely, it is comparatively more difficult for parents to object to the importance of engaging with the problem of violence, also in terms of bullying and cyber-bullying. This can perhaps be an example that shows that teachers’ training might be more straightforward to implement. However, to verify this preliminary finding, further research should be carried out, perhaps through a comparative research design.

Phase 2: public opinion

56Phase 2 of this investigation centres on public opinion concerning gender issues in education in Italy. For this purpose, information was collated mainly through media, such as online newspaper articles and websites. This was based on the assumption that, in recent years, social media have been the protagonists of the controversy over gender issues in education. This has been evident in many ways in the course of Phase 1, for example through the testimonies of the projects’ coordinators, who found themselves in the middle of attacks on Facebook and who had to clarify the content of their projects following misinformation campaigns led via WhatsApp.

57At the national level, Mario Adinolfi and his political party Il popolo della famiglia were at the centre of active “anti-gender” movements online. As previously mentioned, their logo explicitly includes the slogan “No gender nelle scuole” (see Figure 1, p. 78), and they were involved in many “anti-gender” initiatives. Their interest in social networks as a means of mobilisation is evidenced also by the fact that, as a quick search on Facebook reveals, many of Mario Adinolfi’s Facebook followers had the official logo of the party as their profile picture at the time of this investigation. Moreover, Mario Adinolfi himself frequently published Live Facebook Videos on the official page of the “community”. The strong involvement in social media is also accompanied by the hashtag #nogender.

58It is especially because of the strong digital nature of the “anti-gender” initiatives that I have decided to exploit online resources for Phase 2 of this investigation. In order to get a clear overview, I engage with three different types of data: (a) newspaper articles, in order to understand their role in the way they present these issues to the public (below); (b) declarations of religious representatives and, specifically, of representatives of the Catholic Church, promptly reported by newspapers and shared on social media (p.151); (c) examples of “anti-gender” initiatives (p. 156).

Newspaper articles

59The first group of articles focuses on the integration of a gender approach in education. The second group relates to a specific issue: the educational booklets published by the National Office against Racial Discrimination (UNAR) in 2014, meant to provide teachers with possible means of dealing with issues of bullying and cyber bullying in schools, especially in the context of homophobia and transphobia. Lastly, the third group of articles reports the reactions to the same projects that are at the centre of Phase 1 of this investigation, in the specific context of Cagliari, Sardinia.

60For each article, I outline three main considerations concerning its content (e.g. main arguments for or against educational projects) and one consideration concerning the way the author of the article intends to convey their message, through which expedients (e.g. use of sarcastic comments, neutral language, etc.).

Gender issues

Article 1: “Educazione al genere, la mappa delle ‘buone pratiche’ nelle scuole italiane”⁶, 12 June 2013

61The first article was written by journalist and blogger Stefania Prandi for the online version of the Italian newspaper Il Fatto Quotidiano and published on 12 June 2013.

• The article immediately emphasises the attempt to break stereotypes as the central objective of a gender-responsive education. The author provides some examples of what gender stereotypes imply, such as the idea that women need to take care of the children while men focus on their career. This is particularly interesting because breaking stereotypes and engaging with stereotypes are definitely at the centre of the three educational projects that we have investigated in Phase 1 of our analysis.

• This article also considers another aspect that many readers can certainly relate to: the role of TV and media in representing sexist visions of society. In fact, the article presents examples of programmes that stimulate students to critically analyse the shows that they watch on TV, in order to get them to relate to the shows and challenge their common sense. The article tends to highlight the positive effects of such programmes on the students, describing them as full of curiosity and the desire to call their perceptions into question. These programmes are directed to secondary school students, mainly upper secondary.

• In order to outline other positive aspects of these programmes, the article also speaks of sexual education, emphasising the importance of such education in order to prevent sexual violence and crimes, and in order to better approach sexuality, both as men and women.

62This article attempts to outline good practices of gender education in Italian schools without expressing a negative judgement, instead seemingly appreciating the efforts of the different institutions. This article mainly provides a description of the programmes, rather than expressing an opinion. It is particularly interesting that in the title of this article, the term good practices is written within inverted commas. It probably means to imply that they can be arguably defined as successful practices, since we cannot measure at this stage the social impact of such programmes. However, indicating this expression in this way, without further explanation, may induce the reader to somehow start reading the article with a sceptical attitude. Nevertheless, this article also reveals that there are efforts and initiatives that have been developed and that were successfully implemented, before the whole controversy developed.

Article 2: “Gender a scuola. Prima che i nostri figli subiscano l’inculturazione LGBT di Stato, sarà bene provare a resistere”⁷, 26 January 2014

63The second article is an electronic article written by journalist Luigi Amicone and published on 26 January 2014, by the online version of the Catholic newspaper Tempi, which he himself co-founded. Three considerations regarding the content of this article can be formulated.

• The author emphasises the role of the State and the fact that public funding supports the programmes of gender education. This article supports the statement that 10 million euros of state expenditure have been used to “brainwash” children with a process that Amicone calls “LGBT enculturation”. The writer intends to appeal to the reader, to make them feel that their money has been used for projects that intend to damage children. This reference to a form of enculturation, together with the rest of the article, emphasises a sense of imposition associated with gender-responsive educational projects.

• A link is drawn between Marxist ideology and the idea of a gender-responsive educational structure. More specifically, the writer talks of Marxism and of what he names “genderism”. This correlation is particularly interesting, and it attempts to make a reference once more to the idea of gender as an ideology, il gender, or la teoria del gender, to be compared to Marxism or socialism. Moreover, the choice of the term Marxism can be appealing to readers from specific political parties that are going to respond negatively to the comparison.

• In the same article, the author makes references to LGBT issues, sexual education, and the “Legge Scalfarotto”, among other things. It is incredibly difficult to really “open up” this article and respond to each point step by step: this overlap of notions contributes to a mass of misinformation. An example of this is the explicit reference to “standards for sexual education”, which probably refers to the document of the Regional Office of the World Health Organisation (WHO) already mentioned in the conceptual framework (see on p. 55). However, the author emphasises that these standards come from the representatives of the European Union, whom he refers to as the “colletti rainbow di Bruxelles”, which literally translates to “Brussels’ rainbow collars”. Not only does this remark highlight the fact that the author has a particular interest in attacking and criticising the European Union and its framework, but he also provides inaccurate information, since this document is published by the European office of an Agency of the United Nations and not by the European Union.

64In terms of the way in which the author intends to convey his message, he exploits what is generally defined as common sense. The whole tone of the article tends to be particularly sarcastic, making constant jokes based on notions of common sense and common knowledge, while heavily attacking the notion of gender education as “LGBT enculturation” or “brainwashing”. For example, he undermines and trivialises the concepts brought out by gender education by phrasing them in a way that could seem almost ridiculous to the audience. More specifically, for example, he affirms that the issues at the core of these projects should not be presented to young children, because they have as little to do with children as “cabbage does with breakfast”. The expression “as cabbage for breakfast” (Come il cavolo a merenda) is a playful Italian expression, which intends to indicate things that have nothing to do with each other.

Article 3: “Tutti pazzi per il gender”⁸, 31 March 2015

65The article was published on 31 March 2015, and was written by journalist Chiara Lalli for the newspaper Internazionale. The author engages with different issues and, in particular, responds to specific arguments against what is defined as a theory and ideology based on “il gender”.

• Dividing her article into different chapters, Lalli takes on various issues. First of all, she points out that there is no such thing as ideologia del gender, and she underlines the distinction between ideologia del gender and gender studies. Moreover, she responds to the argument that the ideologia del gender intends to impose a system where there are no differences between men and women. However, Lalli highlights that this is not the case. In fact, as she points out, it is generally the opposition that intends to impose specific rules, while gender studies operate in a certain fluidity of models. Lalli’s response is initially structured in two steps: maintaining that “il gender” is not an ideology, and yet having to delineate and clarify the content of what people think is contained in this presumed ideology.

• Lalli also outlines some of the main arguments posed against “il gender”, mentioning the declaration of don Angelo Perego, a priest from a small town in the Region of Lombardy, who stated during a mass that “the gender ideology is more dangerous than ISIS”. She highlights the religious element of the opposition. However, she does not argue in any way that the opposition is exclusively Catholic, taking into account a multitude of “anti-gender” elements and initiatives.

• She concludes the article with a reference to questions posed by Paul B. Preciado (2013) in an article written two years earlier, wondering: “Who is going to defend the rights of the child that is ‘different’?”. It is interesting to notice how children tend to be at the centre of this controversy. On the one hand, children are seen as beings that need to be protected from what are considered to be inappropriate conversations and issues that could endanger them. On the other hand, there is an intent to protect children, in this case from social norms that place them in a world of inequalities. Perhaps it is through this issue that it is possible to define and lay common ground to move forward in this controversy.

66Some observations concerning the way the article is structured can be made. Despite an attempt to divide the main concepts by chapter, the article remains complex to read and understand. In the text, certain definitions are provided and clarified. However, these tend to be inserted within other definitions; doing so does tie all the concepts together, but the connection this brings out is not clearly defined and is, therefore, not identifiable. This is all the more true given the sarcastic tone of some parts of the article, which leaves room for confusion and misunderstanding. Moreover, its colloquial style, which most likely was used to make the article more accessible, contributes to a confusing structure.

Article 4: “La crociata del gender. Il fantasma che agita i Cattolici”⁹, 22 June 2015

67The fourth article was written by Michela Marzano, and was published on 22 June 2015 in the online version of the newspaper la Repubblica. Michela Marzano was one of the proponents of the Ddl Cirinnà for the law concerning Civil Unions in Italy (see on pp. 76-77) and the author of one of the books that we have used in our research of academic literature for the elaboration of the conceptual framework of this investigation

• Marzano mentions some of the main slogans of the associations that participated in Family Day in Rome on 20 June 2015: “Giù le mani dai nostri figli” (Keep your hands off our children); “Uomo e donna siamo nati” (We are born man and woman); “Stop gender nelle scuole” (Stop ‘gender’ in schools); “Il gender è lo sterco del demonio” (‘Il gender’ is devil’s excrement). Moreover, she makes specific reference, as the title indicates, to the fact that the majority of participants were Catholics. However, by calling attention to the participation of the Imam and the Rabbi of the city of Rome in the event, she does underline that however significant the Catholic opposition is, it is not the only opposition to a gender approach.

• Marzano clarifies the use of the famous phrase by Simone de Beauvoir “On ne naît pas femme, on le devient”, “One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman”. In particular, the author of this article emphasises that this did not mean to tell women that they can choose whether or not to be women, but simply that they can rethink and question their role within society, going beyond the stereotypes that, for centuries, have put them in an inferior position to men.

• Marzano also points out that the only objective of speaking of a gender approach in education is to promote and facilitate mutual respect, regardless of your identity or sexual orientation. This seems to be a message that is not easily brought out. The opposition conducts campaigns that argue that this is not true, that gender-responsive educational projects have other “real intentions”.

68Marzano’s article is quite simple and linear, and it attempts to focus only on the main issues and respond to the main arguments offered by those who oppose issues of gender in education. In doing so, she attempts to explain the meaning of “gender” and the fact than in itself it can only constitute a subject of study, not a theory. Once more, as in the case of Lalli’s article, it is possible to recognise a need to provide definitions, to clarify the concepts at hand.

UNAR booklets: reactions

Article 5: “Ma re e regine fanno male ai bambini? La guida contro la discriminazione sconsiglia ai genitori di leggere le fiabe ai bambini: promuovono solo la famiglia”¹⁰, 15 February 2014

69This article was written by Isabella Bossi Fedrigotti and published on 15 February 2014 in the online version of the Corriere della Sera.

• Referring to the three UNAR booklets, the writer makes a conscious choice to refer specifically to the fact that one of the recommendations made to teachers was not to use traditional fairy tales and stories. This is definitely interesting, because among all the characteristics and elements of the UNAR booklets designed to fight homophobia in an educational context, the author chose to underline one specific element. This promised to elicit an emotional response in the readers, who most likely grew up with these stories and fairy tales, and would, therefore, probably find this suggestion somewhat outrageous.

• At the beginning of the article, the author seems to agree with the content of the UNAR booklets. In fact, she argues that, if the characters of the stories that we love so much actually are harmful to our children, then we should indeed stop reading them. But although she is apparently in agreement with the statement, she uses particularly “dramatic” images, for example describing the stories as capable of “ruining [children’s] lives”. Moreover, she makes specific reference to the work of researchers when emphasising that it is a shame to eliminate stories that, indeed according to researchers, help children cope with their fears. This is interestingly the only instance, in the whole article, that she makes specific reference to some studies.

• The conclusion of the article is particularly noteworthy: at this point, in fact, the author more explicitly expresses her opinion, by stating that the recommendations made in the UNAR booklets are probably “too rushed”. Moreover, she argues that the real objective of these recommendations is to prepare children, adolescents and families for same-sex marriages. This conclusion clearly represents a personal opinion and an interpretation of the purpose of the booklets. Moreover, these words seem to entail a form of judgment, implying that UNAR has purposely hidden their true intentions, and that the preparation of children, adolescents and families for the notion of same-sex marriages in itself carries negative connotations.

70The writer not only makes a specific choice of content when referring to something like the fairy tales, but she also chooses to set some specific sentences in her article in boldface for emphasis, wishing to underline what she supposedly considers important issues and points of her article. Moreover, the tone of the article is ironic in different parts, once more undermining and belittling the concepts put forward by the booklets. Interestingly, this article is cited in another article from the online version of the Catholic newspaper Tempi¹¹. In particular, while criticising the UNAR booklets, the author highlights that “even the Corriere [della Sera]” was on their side, citing in particular the conclusion of the article. Moreover, it is also cited in another article analysed in this same section. In this specific case, the authors identify it as one of the examples of the extreme reactions generated by the publication of the UNAR booklets.

Article 6: “A scuola di gender (con le famiglie escluse)”¹², 23 March 2014

71The article was published on 23 March 2014, and written by Antonio Sanfrancesco for the Italian Catholic newspaper Famiglia Cristiana.

• Sanfrancesco begins the article with five specific recommendations from the UNAR booklets. He uses examples that could sound particularly “shocking” to his readers, and in fact, does not take the recommendations in the real order in which they are presented in the UNAR booklets. Among these, the author chooses a recommendation that suggests to teachers, when formulating homework, to make references to different familiar structures. For instance, when referring to the protagonists of a story or of a mathematical problem, teachers could make reference to a child with two fathers or two mothers (e.g. “Rosa e i suoi papà”).

• Some inaccurate statements can also be identified. Firstly, as is the case in several of the articles analysed here, the author refers to gender as an ideology, speaking once more of an “ideologia del genere”. Secondly, he puts under the umbrella of this “ideology” a number of concepts that are not accurate and that he attributes to the integration of a gender-responsive approach into education and, therefore, to gender studies. In particular, he states that, according to the “ideologia del gender”, everyone has the right to choose their own identity and their own sexual orientation, regardless of biological sex. This is once more a common mistake that is definitely problematic, and also delicate. First of all, it shows once more an attempt to put gender identity and sexual orientation at the same level, as if they were the same thing.

• Furthermore, in order to better understand this argument, it should be divided into two statements: the first one saying that gender studies argue that everyone has the right to choose their own identity; the other one saying that gender studies argue that everyone has the right to choose their sexual orientation. Both statements provide inaccurate information. In fact, as previously also mentioned in Marzano’s article published by la Repubblica on 22 June 2015 (see p. 134), gender studies simply argue that as individuals we can rethink and question our role in society, becoming aware of the impositions and constructions established by societal norms. The difference is subtle and perhaps too complex to be highlighted at all times.

• The inaccuracy of the second statement is, however, not subtle. In fact, arguing that someone has the right to choose his or her sexual orientation would mean that sexual orientation is the result of a choice. This is an element that is often found not only in arguments against gender studies, but also in arguments of people defending them (e.g. “they can choose to do whatever they want, that does not affect me”). This is certainly problematic, and constitutes one of the bases of discrimination on the grounds of one’s sexual orientation.

• As the title indicates, Sanfrancesco highlights in his article that families feel that these programmes exclude them from the education to sexuality that they should provide their children. In this specific case, he does not highlight it as a perception, but presents it as fact. This is a recurrent theme, and it goes back to the notion that parents do not seem to want schools to take charge of issues that they consider appropriate exclusively within the walls of their own homes. This definitely ties in with some of the statements outlined by the experts in Phase 1 of this investigation: it is fundamental to involve parents and families, and it is an essential part of the process.

72Sanfrancesco puts emphasis on some sentences, in order to accompany the “shock effect” of some statements or phrases directly cited from the UNAR booklets, e.g.: “In Western societies we take for granted that the sexual orientation of a healthy adolescent is heterosexual.” Through this expedient, the author seems to argue that these statements are to some extent trying to defy common sense.

Article 7: “Omofobia: a scuola la Chiesa censura. Essere gay in classe è un calvario. Ma non eravamo uno stato laico?”¹³, 16 April 2014

73The article was published on 16 April 2014, and written by Michele Sasso and Francesca Sironi for the online version of the weekly newspaper L’Espresso. This article constitutes in itself more of an investigative report on the different reactions to the introduction of the UNAR booklets.

• The title of this article makes an explicit reference to the Church as an institution and to the secular nature of the Italian State. In this report, the authors refer to the different reactions of religious representatives, such as the President of the Conferenza Episcopale Italiana (CEI), Angelo Bagnasco, who declared that the UNAR booklets intend to propagate misconceptions against families and faith. This approach is relevant because, if the opposition to a gender perspective comes primarily from Catholics, the role of their representatives would definitely have an impact.

• This report takes into account certain testimonies by young LGBTI students, who explain and talk about their personal experiences in facing bullying and discrimination in an educational context. Moreover, the authors also interview some teachers, who witness this type of situation more directly and are challenged by the situation, especially by the introduction of cyber-bullying. One teacher specifically reports that among teachers themselves there is often not enough willingness or enough means to deal with these issues, which are sometimes considered too complex.

• The report concludes with a sense of hope, noting the differences of opinion between the youth and their parents. To support this, it uses as an example the case of high school students in the city of Modena, who invited politician and former Member of Parliament Vladimir Luxuria¹⁴ and the president of the association Arcigay to talk about transsexuality. Initially a number of parents opposed the initiative, succeeded in influencing the school manager and teachers, and eventually prevented the event from being held. However, the conversation moved on to Facebook and the mobilisation was strong enough that after three cancellations, on 16 April 2014, the event took place in an overcrowded auditorium, where the speakers talked about bullying, transsexuality and rights. The authors of the report conclude by reiterating that educating students to respect should indeed be one of the main objectives and tasks of the school.

74The report is structured in a clear manner, with different chapters that take into account different issues – the role of the State as a secular entity, the reality in schools, the challenges of not treating these issues in the classroom without a framework, and the differences between a younger and an older generation (Figli vs Genitori, Children vs Parents). This allows for a clear understanding of the issues at hand. The position of the authors is quite clear and explicit, and expressed in a simple way. However, this article most likely has a smaller audience than the ones that have been previously analysed. In fact, L’Espresso is not a daily newspaper, and in itself it is structured more as an investigative report than a newspaper article. As previously mentioned, this report also makes reference to the article published on the Corriere della Sera by Isabella Bossi Fedrigotti.

The context in Cagliari

Article 8: “Zedda spende 10mila euro per spiegare ai bambini che esistono I gay”¹⁵, 9 February 2014

75The article was published on 9 February 2014 by Jacopo Norfo for the online newspaper Casteddu On Line, which deals with news specifically in the municipality and province of Cagliari. The article focuses on the discussions surrounding the implementation in Cagliari of the Agape and Se non ora, quando (SNOQ) project Alla scoperta della differenza that we have presented in Phase 1 of our investigation.

• The first consideration is related to the title itself. The use of inverted commas indicates that it is a quote, but it does not specify who is being quoted. The title is undoubtedly important, since it is the first sentence that is read by any reader. Moreover, given that Casteddu On Line is an online news outlet, this article is most likely shared on social media such as Facebook: the title, in this case, is the only thing a user can see before even accessing the link. The reason why this is problematic is that the title states that the mayor, Massimo Zedda, has spent 10,000 euros to “explain to children that gay people exist”. Immediately, a reference to the funds of the municipality of Cagliari is made. Like the second article of this analysis, the waste of public funding is in some cases brought out as one of the arguments against the elaboration of educational projects in the context of gender issues and gender equality. Moreover, not only does the title trivialise the nature of the project through one simple sentence, it also provides false information, since the objectives of the project Alla scoperta della differenza were multiple and complex, and did not in any way intend to simply explain to children that “gay people exist”. The effect of this title is thus to undermine the nature of the project and its content, whatever the intention of the author was originally.

• The article sets out to present both sides of the discussions about the project Alla scoperta della differenza, making reference to political representatives, such as Mauro Pili and Edoardo Tocco from the right-wing party Forza Italia, Salvatore Deidda from the party Fratelli D’Italia, and Daniele Caruso, from the political party La Destra. Defending the project, the author mentions Silvia Doneddu from the left-wing political party Sinistra, Ecologia e Libertà (SEL, the party of Mayor Massimo Zedda). On one hand, the four remarks of the right-wing representatives, even if they explicitly attack the left-wing parties, also tackle the content of the projects, by arguing that it is not appropriate to speak of these issues in the classroom. On the other hand, the author includes a comment by Silvia Doneddu that is not specifically concerned with the project’s content, and that instead attacks the politician Edoardo Tocco, and invites him “to shut up” and “to avoid talking too much not to embarrass himself”. This definitely undermines the content of the statements and it does not provide a voice to both sides. Moreover, he provides the objectives of the project, as stated in the call for proposals by the city administration, only at the end of the article, after leaving an open question to the reader: “who is right?”.

• Overall, political dynamics are central to this article. This provides a link to the analysis carried out in Phase 1 of the investigation. In fact, the political elements and dynamics in Cagliari seemed to be particularly evident in the context surrounding the projects, constituting a strong factor in the obstacles posed to their implementation.

76The article presents a number of inaccuracies. The author himself does not use specific expedients to explicitly express a political or ideological opinion. However, the way he structures the article conveys a very clear message. As previously specified, the number and content of the declarations by representatives of the different parties that he chooses to include already convey a specific message.

77Particular mention should be given to the statement of Daniele Caruso that the author of the article chose to set in bold for emphasis. The politician states that some concerned parents “are reporting that two Italian schools are preparing an ‘experimental project’ to educate children to the phantom ‘five sexual genders’”. The author puts an additional emphasis, the only one in the article, on the phrase “phantom ‘five sexual genders’”. Not only does the author of the article fail to verify the information given, but by putting emphasis on the expression, he makes his intention unclear.

Article 9: “Cagliari, scuole elementari. Il progetto gender bloccato dalle famiglie è riapparso in altri istituti”¹⁶, 26 October 2014

78The article was published on 26 October 2014 by Benedetta Frigerio for the online version of the Italian Catholic newspaper Tempi. This article specifically refers to the call for proposals of the City Administration and the Agape and SNOQ project Alla scoperta della differenza.

• This article focuses particularly on the concerns expressed by Eugenio Lao, the regional coordinator of the Associazione famiglie numerose, and member of the Forum delle famiglie della Sardegna. In fact, he expresses his specific concern with the implementation of the project Alla scoperta della differenza in schools.

• The author of this article, through the words of Eugenio Lao, focuses on the first reactions of the association Famiglie Numerose to the call for proposals issued by the City Administration, under the Commission for Equal Opportunity with Elisabetta Dettori. He highlights the core of the opposition by citing letters that were sent to the school managers of the schools initially contacted by the City Administration and the associations, the very managers that had denied the possibility of implementing the project as a result precisely of these criticisms. These letters argue that the projects tend to “sexualise” children through games, fairy tales and theatre performances. Moreover, the letters again mention a “gender ideology”. Unlike the other articles that I have investigated, which associate the ideologia del gender with false attributes and principles, in this case some of the statements cited in these letters are accurate and are actually at the centre of gender studies, such as the fact that homosexuality is innate, and that indeed homosexual couples constitute a family, a new version in a way of the traditional family so strongly defended by the Catholic associations. The opposition to these statements shows that the opposition is not only based on misunderstandings and misinformation, but it also stems from specific ideas about what the world should be and what societal structures should represent.

• Finally, it is possible to identify that the main concern at the centre of these debates is the family. The author poses the question: “who represents the families?”. Eugenio Lao states that if the family is excluded by these projects and is not represented by anyone, then it needs to represent itself, going back to educating without delegating any task, being present in all aspects of society, educational but also economic and political. This last point speaks of the family as a defined and definitive entity in itself, which is often the case when looking at these statements and arguments, and as shown multiple times, as in the case of the Family Day that took place on 20 June 2015.

79The author divides this article into four chapters, outlining the main issues in a clear manner. The statements made by Eugenio Lao are definitely at the centre of this publication, even if it is not structured exactly as an interview. This might be the case also because this being a matter specifically concerning the town of Cagliari, the writers of the newspaper that generally investigates news at a national level were interested in giving voice to some of the actors more directly involved in the local context.

Article 10: “Scuola, polemica sui corsi gender. ‘Spetta a noi educare i nostri figli’”¹⁷, 28 November 2014

80The article was published on 28 November 2014 by Manuela Arca for the online version of L’Unione Sarda. This article makes reference to the project Ci piacCiAmo! … anche in biblioteca organised by the association Menabó. In the case of this article, simply because of its structure, I provide four considerations that integrate both the content and the ways in which the author conveys the information.

• At the centre of this article lies the controversy surrounding the project of the association Menabó. The author presents the controversy in quite a linear manner, noting the central idea of the project, then outlining the opposition and the fact that the project has been interrupted in some of the educational institutions, outlining the clarifying statement by Giulia Balzano, president of the association, and finally also outlining the remarks of the school managers involved in the projects and of the City Administration, through Enrica Puggioni, the representative of the Department of Culture of the City Administration, which funded the project.

• Here the author gives space to clarifications on the project by the people who promote it and defend it. Therefore, even if the language used seems quite neutral and not explicitly for or against the project, it is possible to assume that the author wants to outline positive elements of the project, giving a forum to those who intend to explain the project’s intentions and objectives more clearly.

• Even if the author’s intention seems to be to generate a positive impression of the project, she also provides certain misinformation or simply poses a basis for misunderstanding. This is the case specifically in the first paragraph, where the author indicates that certain movements argue that the activities central to the project deal with themes and subjects that they consider inappropriate for children, such as homosexuality. However, the author does not specify that it is these movements that consider homosexuality an inappropriate subject for children: she phrases the sentence in a way that seems to agree with the statement, which is in contrast to the hypothesis that she intends to present the project positively. Providing this “judgment” in an article that is not explicitly criticising the project can implicitly convey the message that homosexuality is indeed an inappropriate issue for children.

• The declarations of the school manager of two of the schools involved in the project, and the way these declarations are presented by the author of the article are also noteworthy. In fact, Arca refers to “rassicurazioni alle famiglie” and when presenting the school manager’s statement, she states that he “guarantees” that the activities of the project do not deal with questions related to gender identity or sexuality. This is certainly a clarification that even the coordinators of this project, as well as those of the Alla scoperta della differenza project, were led to make, since one of the main concerns coming from the families and the Catholic associations was indeed that they did not want these issues to be treated in the classrooms with their children. However, by presenting this statement as a form of “reassurance to the families” and by saying that he “guarantees” that it is not the case, the author (most likely involuntarily) undermines and gives a negative connotation to those projects and those initiatives that do intend to deal with issues of gender identity and sexuality. This is a recurrent problem that we are going to explore more fully in the following concluding remarks.

81One of the common elements is that these articles make reference to actions of associations, such as Sentinelle in Piedi, Comitato per le Famiglie, Associazione Famiglie Numerose (in the Sardinian case), and to the declarations of political and religious representatives. The rest of this chapter is centred precisely on these issues.

82As the preceding analyses show, a certain amount of misinformation was provided not only by the newspapers with a specific orientation and religious affiliation (i.e. Tempi and Famiglia Cristiana), but also by the main news outlets, such as la Repubblica and Il Corriere della Sera. This element is particularly problematic, not only because quantitatively they have a broader audience than other newspapers, but also because they insert certain elements of misinformation into expressions of positive arguments towards the projects, or while attempting to simply provide “neutral” information (where the inverted commas indicate that newspaper articles are very rarely purely neutral because they most often imply and entail less obvious issues). Even people who are interested in understanding the questions studied by gender studies and who seek information in mainstream media might still be exposed to misinformation, which then is more likely to be internalised, because it is implicit.

83A number of these articles appeal to the notion of common sense, understood as something that is obvious to everyone and therefore that, according to these movements, constitutes the reality of things. In the name of this common sense, as Avanza (2015) also highlights, the members of the “anti-gender” movements tend to present themselves as the only protectors and defenders of this reality, founded on biological determinism. Thus, in this equation, gender studies and what they define as teoria del gender are the enemies of the truth and are therefore perceived as highly dangerous for society and need to be combated.

84Finally, these articles also show, once more, that the “anti-gender” arguments are generated by Catholic-affiliated movements. To further explore this aspect, the next section specifically investigates some official statements and declarations of representatives of the Catholic Church.

Declarations of Catholic Church representatives

85Phase 1 of this analysis, and the first section of Phase 2 showed us that the “anti-gender” initiatives tend to be driven by principles in line with those of the Catholic Church. For this purpose, I provide statements by Pope Francis and by Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco, president of the Italian Episcopal Conference (CEI) and archbishop of the city of Genova. For each statement, I make three considerations.

Statement 1: Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco, 17 October 2014

86The first analysis can be carried out in the context of an interview of Cardinal Bagnasco for Radio Vaticana on 17 October 2014¹⁸, in the concluding phase of the 2014 synod¹⁹.

• Cardinal Bagnasco argues that the “West”, and specifically Europe, is not the centre of the world, but that European culture still expresses a certain type of arrogance. According to Bagnasco, international organisations operate in a framework that is particularly Western-focused, while he argues that this framework now rotates around the “teoria del genere”. First of all, he makes a point that can be recognised as relevant. The work of international organisations, if we even think of the formulation of human rights themselves, was (and still is to a certain extent) centred on an understanding of the world that is typically Western. This is indeed a limitation of the work of international organisations and of any entity that attempts to speak in the name of “standard” values. The relevance of this statement, even if it can be contested, for example in light of the gradual changes and evolutions in the agendas of international organisations, is what indirectly gives an impression that the following statement, referring to the “teoria del genere”, is also somewhat accurate. Moreover, we could argue that a gender approach is indeed a priority for different international organisations at the moment. However, the issue is grounded in the fact that a gender perspective, in the way international organisations and academics mean it, does not correspond to the teoria del gender, in the way Cardinal Bagnasco understands it.

• Cardinal Bagnasco specifically talks about the integration of a gender-responsive approach into education, referring to it as an attempt by institutions to diffuse this “theory” in the classrooms. He therefore argues that this constitutes a terrible offense, which takes away the “natural right of parents” to offer their own cultural vision to their children, a vision that they consider the best option for them. He further argues that not only should parents be informed of the projects, but their authorisation for these issues to be presented to their children should be sought. The use of the term natural in relation to a right of parents to offer their cultural vision to their children is of heightened importance, because it constitutes in itself a contradiction.

• Cardinal Bagnasco concludes by stating that the Church has to be a solid and present entity to support families and parents. This highlights the importance of the declarations of religious representatives: manifesting it through official declarations, the Catholic Church shows its support for the initiatives carried out by the “anti-gender” movements. This element, in turn, gives them legitimacy.

Statement 2: Pope Francis, 20 January 2015

87The second statement is Pope Francis’ response to a journalist’s question on a flight back from Manila, Philippines, on 20 January 2015²⁰. In particular, the journalist makes reference to a previous statement of the Pope, requesting clarification concerning the rise of an ideological colonisation and asking for specific examples.

• As a first example of ideological colonisation Pope Francis presents an anecdote, referring to a Minister of Education who, in 1995, reportedly requested some funding to build schools for the poor. However, she was confronted with a dilemma. In fact, they told her they would give her the funding only on the condition that, in those schools, there would be one textbook, well prepared from a didactic point of view, to specifically teach the teoria del gender. This Minister, according to Pope Francis, decided to accept but then prepared another book that could respond to the one meant to teach the teoria del gender. The Pope provides this anecdote as his own testimony, something he has himself witnessed. However, he does not provide any precise or exhaustive information.

• He speaks of an ideological colonisation, understanding the teoria del gender as a way to impose and colonise people in a specific context with a specific idea meant to change a structure or a way of thinking. Pope Francis clarifies that it is possible to speak of an ideological colonisation by arguing that ideologies such as la teoria del gender exploit the need of certain populations for help, and they then exploit that opportunity to insert themselves in that reality.

• Moreover, he specifies that this is not something new: he argues that this is what dictatorships of the last centuries have also done, making specific references to the Hitler youth. This powerful statement is representative of an intention to “shock” the audience.

88The Pope’s statement shares a common element with that of Bagnasco: in both cases, there is a discussion of an imposition, of something coming from outside to impose itself in certain specific realities, without considering their specificity.

Statement 3: Pope Francis, 15 April 2015

89The last statement is another address by Pope Francis, this time during one of his public papal audiences in St. Peter’s square, on 15 April 2015²¹.

• Pope Francis centres his remarks on the importance of the family and, in particular, of the God-given gift of the creation of men and women, and of the sacrament of marriage, noting a complementarity between men and women. He specifically refers to the creation of the man and the woman as described in the Bible. He also adds that the sexual difference is present in many forms of life, but that “only in men and women does this difference entail the image of God himself”, thus highlighting a need for reciprocity between men and women.

• Pope Francis specifically makes reference to the teoria del gender, describing it as an “expression of frustration that means to cancel sexual differences because of incapability to deal with them”, and stating that it constitutes “a step back”. He argues that cancelling differences constitutes the problem, not the solution to the problem. This point is particularly recurrent: there is a general understanding that gender studies mean to propose that we eliminate all differences between men and women. It is important to wonder how it is possible to effectively communicate that, far from denying or eliminating differences between men and women, gender studies state that there are many ways to be a woman and many ways to be a man, and that indeed we are all so different that we cannot limit and define such diversity under these categories.

• In the final part of this remarks, Pope Francis emphasises the importance of granting women the same dignity and rights as men, giving women an actual voice within the Church and within society. This is connected to the observation made in Chapter 3. In fact, I believe Pope Francis to be an appealing figure in the Catholic Church: he offers statements and declarations that express openness and appear quite “modern” compared to his predecessors. However, in the end, these declarations show that he tends to stay crystallised in the same block of misinformation and misunderstandings, and contributes to reinforcing it.

“Anti-gender” initiatives

90Specific initiatives and campaigns of the so-called “anti-gender” movements, which are very active in the controversy surrounding an integration of a gender approach into educational policies, are the centre of this analysis. For each initiative, I outline some considerations concerning the content and the way the message is conveyed. In the case of the newspaper articles, some of the considerations that I have made are the result of an interpretation of expedients and ways of writing, while in this case we have specific examples of active campaigns with the specific objective to “stop gender nelle scuole”, to stop il gender in the schools, as one of their slogans reads.

Initiative 1: Family Day Flyers

91Firstly, I observe some flyers that have been circulated both in their printed versions, during events and conferences organised by the different “anti-gender” associations, and on social media (i.e. Facebook and WhatsApp). These flyers were initially published in response to the publication of the UNAR booklets in 2014, and later circulated by the association Difendiamo i nostri figli for the advertisement of the Family Day, to take place on 20 June 2015.

• The cover of these flyers bears a particular title: “Aiuto! Aiuto! Siamo soli. L’ideologia gender sta entrando in tutti gli ambienti specialmente nella scuola”, which translates to “Help! Help! We are alone. The ideologia gender is entering all contexts, especially schools”. Using images that represent two families of same-sex couples²², they direct a question to the parents reading these flyers: “Do you want this to be taught to your children?”. It is with this premise that the flyer then indicates the appointment to meet in Rome, on 20 June 2015, to reunite with all families (i.e. the Family Day). The cover then concludes with the request, in capital letters, to join them, because “abbiamo bisogno di te”, “we need you”. The phrases “we are alone” and “we need you” highlight a certain sense of urgency. This flyer undoubtedly constitutes a call for action, and it presents these initiatives as the centre of a strong movement, a movement intended to protect children.

• The inner part of this flyer is divided into two pages, one that answers the question: “what happens in schools?”, and the other one that responds to “what is the ‘teoria gender’?”. On the first page, the description provides an explanation of the educational projects focusing on three main points:

  • The government, the regional offices and the local administrations are funding courses and projects based on the ideologia gender, led by biased associations, for millions of euros.

  • Through the school, they intend to teach children that the masculine-feminine duality is a cultural imposition we need to get rid of.

  • Some schools in Rome, Trieste and Turin for example, have already started substituting the terms “mother” and “father” with the terms “parent 1” and “parent 2”, to abolish Father’s Day and Mother’s Day, and to read children fairy tales with characters of same-sex families.

92The second page contains a description of what, according to the association Difendiamo i nostri figli, the ideologia gender entails:

• The first point reiterates what was said before: the masculine and the feminine are cultural impositions that have nothing to do with human nature. According to the ideologia gender, individuals are born as “neutral” beings, and they can then choose from infinite “gender identities”.

• To summarise, the flyer points out that to respect all “gender identities”, the ideologia gender expects us to eliminate any reference to the complementarity between masculine and feminine, modifying legislation concerning families, and intervening in the education of children and youth.

93In the middle of both pages, we can see a text, written as a warning in capital letters (the text reads: “Libri già in distribuzione in alcune scuole”), telling parents that the books from which these images of same-sex families are taken are already being distributed in some educational establishments. These two pages definitely provide a certain amount of inaccurate information: as in many other cases encountered in the course of this book, first of all, there is reference to an ideologia gender or teoria gender. Moreover, once more, the notions associated with such a “theory” are inaccurate compared to what gender studies actually research. For example, these flyers state that according to this “theory”, all individuals are born “neutral” and can then choose their own gender identity. A specific reference to Facebook highlights once more a certain interest in social networks and the fact that they represent something everyone recognises and understands. More precisely, the flyer refers to the fact that Facebook offers many different options to indicate one’s gender identity, in addition to “male” and “female” (e.g. queer, transgender, intersexual, gender fluid).

• The last page of this flyer is titled: “the WHO guidelines for sexual education in schools”. To represent this, the association provides a summary, simply writing a specific age range, and indicating some topics²³. This does not specify anything, nor does it clarify each issue. It simply gives the impression that these are the subjects to be taught by teachers, according to these guidelines, to children of those specific age ranges. The association Difendiamo i nostri figli took into account only some of the terms mentioned in the framework, and has taken them out of context in this list. The choice of terms is definitely made with the intent of “shocking” the parents, the target of these flyers, such as the specification of the issue of early childhood masturbation for children before the age of 4. Even an issue such as “love towards people of the same sex”, indicated as the topic to be introduced to children between the age of 4 and 6, is outlined here as one of the issues that are deemed inappropriate for children. This constitutes in itself a problem, since it implies an understanding of homosexuality as something negative and inappropriate.

• Another particularly problematic element of this description is that this summary of the WHO guidelines has been propagated in different instances and in specific cases, implying that this is the content of all educational projects that deal with issues of gender equality, discrimination, etc. In fact, as it was clear from the interviews carried out for Phase 1 of this investigation, this summary was propagated via WhatsApp in Cagliari when the projects Alla scoperta della differenza and Ci piacCiAmo! … anche in biblioteca” were being organised and about to be implemented. In this case, once more, it constitutes a divulgation of false information. Not only does it present an erroneous and misleading simplification of the WHO and BZgA’s (2010) “Standards for sexuality education in Europe”, but none of the projects and initiatives that have been attacked through these flyers deal even slightly with the WHO and BZgA’s framework. Projects that respond to this framework would definitely be interesting to take into account: however, these are not the projects at the centre of these controversies in Italy, nor at the centre of the legislation indicated by the Buona Scuola directive.

Initiative 2: Petition against UNAR and the WHO

94A petition published in March 2014 on the website Notizie pro-vita, by Pro Vita onlus, an association that is particularly active against abortion laws, can be considered. This petition specifically demands that people take a stand against UNAR’s 2013-2015 LGBT strategy, including the booklets we have previously mentioned, and against the “Standards for Sexuality Education in Europe” of the World Health Organisation and the BZgA Research Institute.

95Concerning the first part of the petition, focused specifically against the “2013-2015 Strategy to prevent and combat discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity”, some considerations can be outlined:

• The first point of the petition argues that this strategy contains the principles of the teoria del gender. In particular, the petition provides an introduction to what, according to them, this “theory” entails. In this particular context, it is possible to identify clear misinformation and an overlapping of notions and definitions. For example, this paragraph states, at different points, that the teoria del gender argues that sexual orientation is an “absolutely subjective decision”. Among the false information, it is possible to also identify real statements that lie at the core of gender studies, such as the statement that each sexual orientation has equal dignity. However, in this petition, even a statement such as this one is presented as something “shocking” and something people need to actively oppose. Moreover, the petition explains the term heterosexist as a word associated generally with people “who believe the family and heterosexual marriage to be the only legitimate form of marriage”. By providing an inaccurate definition of the term, the petition undermines its value. The petition also attempts to base its statements on scientific research, arguing that behaviours and social roles are intimately linked to the biological sex, and that not only does this derive from genetic determinism, but it also determines obvious differences in terms of hormones, for example, and even in the structure of the brain. All this is specified through the use of medical terms, so as to give more “authority” and legitimacy to the text.

• Another element of the UNAR strategy that the petition underlines as inappropriate and problematic is its open support for LGBT associations. In particular, the petition argues that it is unacceptable for a government to express so clearly a position in favour of LGBT associations, especially for a state that presents itself as “ideologically neutral”.

• Lastly, this section argues that the majority of the Italian population does not agree with the core principles of this strategy, and that these therefore constitute an imposition. The petition even argues that such ideas go against the Italian Constitution. The authors of this petition thus call for the defence of freedom of religion and endorse the fact that the main religion of Italian citizens clearly states that, even if performed with respect and solidarity, “homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered”, making specific reference to the Bible. Moreover, the petition argues that the UNAR strategy harms freedom of thought and freedom of education. A reference to articles 18 and 26 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is also mentioned in the petition. The choice to include this reference shows a lack of knowledge and understanding of the issues at hand: in fact, the UDHR was drafted and ratified by states through the United Nations, the same organisation that is at the front line of the fight for LGBTI rights and that is behind the introduction of the “Standards for sexuality education in Europe”, which the association takes a stand against in the same petition.

96In fact, the second part of the petition focuses specifically on the WHO and BZgA’s 2010 document “Standards for sexuality education in Europe”.

• This petition presents these standards as another expression (at least partial) of the ideologia del gender. First of all, its authors provide an inaccurate and false summary of what this document entails. A particularly powerful example concerns the accusation that certain points in the document “basically promote paedophilia”. This statement is a result of the interpretation of a statement that was reported using false information. In fact, the petition states that the framework provided by the WHO and BZgA indicates that between the age of 0 and 4, children should be informed “on the pleasure of touching their own body and on early childhood masturbation”. However, in the actual framework the notion of early childhood masturbation is introduced for the age range 4-6 years old. Furthermore, the petition refers to this by arguing that this would then constitute an “instigation to paedophilia”, because teachers would then have to be the ones to demonstrate what “touching one’s own body” means, especially since the document recognises that early childhood education more broadly is expressed through gestures and images. This constitutes a free interpretation of the document, and a specific malicious intent to scare and shock parents who access this petition.

• However, once more, even in the parts where the information reflects the real framework provided in the 2010 publication, the association Pro Vita offers strong opposition (e.g. to the notion that all types of sexual orientation are of equal value). It seems that it is not only a matter of misinformation and misleading “propaganda”, but rather fundamentally different ways of perceiving social structures that are different and discriminatory in themselves. This is where one of the fundamental difficulties in dealing with these issues lies: in fact, it is particularly difficult to make people aware of the discriminatory nature of these statements.

Initiative 3: Generazione Famiglia’s video

97Lastly, I take into account a video published and propagated by the Italian branch of the association Manif Pour Tous, now named Generazione Famiglia. The video was published on YouTube on 4 December 2014 and posted again on Facebook on 24 April 2014²⁴. The video, shared and accompanied by the hashtag #nogender, is named “Capire il ‘Gender’ in meno di 3 minuti”, which translates to “understanding ‘il gender’ in less than 3 minutes”. In precisely 2 minutes and 30 seconds, in fact, a voice narrates a specific interpretation of what it means to talk about gender differences, of being female and being male.

• The content of the video in general gives inaccurate information about the problem raised by gender researchers. As Marzano (2015) also highlights, everything is mixed together, going back and forth between the notions of gender identity, sexual differences, and gender itself (p. 51). The “danger” of this video is its quasi-professional structure. It appears to be an actual informational video, but then it provides false information and it reinforces, once more, a misconception of what it means to talk about gender. Particularly central to this misinformation is the concept of equality: in fact, the video argues that these educational projects intend to make everyone the same, eliminating all differences, and that this is what will make people equal. This is a common misinterpretation of the issue of equality. In fact, it should be clarified that to be equal in terms of opportunities does not mean to be the same. What’s more, equality values diversity and calls for people from any background, sexual orientation, ethnicity, etc. to enjoy equal opportunities, even through and thanks to their diversity.

• The video approaches its conclusion with a particular focus on the school. According to the narrator, it is precisely at school that children would then learn how to “mix everything”, between what is “for boys” and what is “for girls”. This seems to be the greatest concern expressed by the video, a certain fear of confusing children.

• The video thus poses a central problem: how can a boy then be sure of being a boy? How can a girl know she is a girl? According to the video, all this talk about gender just creates confusion and raises problems of identity for children. This description is visually accompanied by symbolic signs and specific colours: pink for the girl, light blue for the boys, and grey for the figures that do not have any characteristics and that are questioning their own identity. It would be necessary to point out that children in their development are bound to encounter issues concerning their identity and to ask questions. Introducing gender-responsive educational projects would simply allow them to express their doubts and not to feel out of place, and consequently discriminated against, for having them in the first place.

98What really contributes to conveying the messages at the centre of the video is the tone of the narrator, which accompanies certain statements with irony, undermining their value. The definitions of the notions that the narrator herself is attempting to undermine are actually incorrect, as previously highlighted. Moreover, the voice is guided by inspirational music that “grows” as the video continues, until the final statement:

We do not want a school that confuses our children. We want our children to learn how to read, how to write, how to count. We want a school that makes them learn ethical respect through culture. Let girls be girls. Let boys be boys.

99Furthermore, the narrator simply refers to the people on the other side of “il gender”, as “qualcuno”, which simply translates to “someone”, not giving a specific characterisation and, arguably, undermining the issue even further.

Key findings

100Strong misinformation has been evident across the analysis of these newspaper articles, official declarations of religious representatives, and specific “anti-gender” initiatives. It would be necessary to make a distinction between conscious intentions to spread misinformation, and a result of a lack of understanding of the issues at hand.

101As previously highlighted in the course of the analysis, even the newspaper articles that intend to provide a neutral account or even express support for gender-responsive initiatives in education sometimes use terms that “accidentally” reiterate and reinforce stereotypes and problematic dynamics. In more than one instance, for example, a lack of distinction between what constitutes a choice of sexual orientation and what entails understanding and relating to one’s own sexual orientation could be identified. This can take different forms, like referring to homosexuality as a “lifestyle decision” or arguing that all people should have the right “to do whatever they please”.

102Overall, there is a preponderance of articles actively opposing these projects. The others tend to outline the reasons why the projects are opposed, but it is not possible to find as many newspaper articles that actively defend the projects. Support tends to be given on blog posts in specific websites of LGBTI associations (e.g. Arc Cagliari, Arcigay) or by the associations that are in charge of the projects themselves. The articles that actively oppose these projects are mainly published in newspapers affiliated with the Catholic Church (i.e. Tempi, Famiglia Cristiana).

103Regarding this type of misinformation, social media occupy a central role as a means to spread news and, in the same way, facilitate the diffusion of false information. The fact that the creators of the social network Facebook are now working to introduce a way to fact-check the news outlets and sources shared in people’s profiles and official pages shows that there is a renewed and growing awareness of the danger of news sharing on social media, that goes hand in hand with their incredible value and potential (Isaac, 2016).

104A question needs to be answered: why do people go to social media for information in the first place? One of the reasons could be that too often politicians, members of civil society and even researchers present certain issues in a complex manner. A specific example of this in Italy was the case of the recent referendum, which took place on 4 December 2016. The new constitutional reform was presented in quite a complex manner, and summaries and simplifications were mainly provided by the specific campaigns from the specific political parties and related associations defending or attacking the proposal. In this specific context, a lot of people got these summaries and clarifications, which were clearly biased, from social networks and through campaigns carried out via the messaging application WhatsApp.

105In relation to this digression concerning the referendum, the way we present certain issues should come under close scrutiny, for example when it comes to the clarification of technicalities and the use of complex multi-faceted definitions. I am specifically taking this case into account also to provide an example that is instrumental to our investigation. In fact, the association Difendiamo i nostri figli also participated in this campaign against the constitutional reform. Specifically, they inserted this campaign into their agenda concerning the fight against “il gender” by preparing a poster, which was mainly shared on Facebook and via the association’s official web page. This presented what they argue to be the steps that the government would have taken if the constitutional reform were to be approved (see Figure 2).

Figure 2. Difendiamo i nostri figli: flyer against the proposed constitutional reform

106Figure 2 shows the eight different steps “against Men and family” as announced by the association, including gay marriage, adoption for same-sex couples and single people, surrogacy, euthanasia, and finally: “homophobia/ transphobia”. The final point constitutes the epitome of a clear example of the confusion of terms and concepts that is central to the “anti-gender” initiatives themselves. Once more, one must ask the question whether such confusion is perpetuated purposely or whether it is the result of a lack of awareness and understanding of these issues. Either way, there is a lack of a stable and consistent response, which simply allows for the reproduction of such confusion.

107Moreover, it is necessary to underline that Phase 2 of this analysis was specific to articles and initiatives in the context of gender issues in education. However, each newspaper contributes to the construction of certain notions all across its publications. The same newspaper might publish a particularly delicate article one day, and it might then “accidentally” provide misinformation in another article concerning a related issue. This will continue to be the case if actions are not taken and if proper awareness campaigns are not carried out at all levels of society. Phase 2 of our investigation led us to a conclusion similar to that of Phase 1. In fact, in this case too, the newspaper articles, the “anti-gender” initiatives and the statements of representatives of the Catholic Church have shown three main elements.

108The sources analysed in the course of Phase 2 show a certain block of misinformation continuously reinforced by newspapers, purposely or through lack of awareness. Religious representatives, and specifically leaders and authoritative figures of the Catholic Church, additionally do not demonstrate a real understanding of the issues, or they even purposely encourage the same misinformation. And in the case of “anti-gender” initiatives, there are people who operate with the specific intent to misinform the public and frighten everyone in order to maintain “traditional values” and the status quo, and there are people who believe that the amount of information they have at hand is genuine, and that they are fighting for a specific cause.

109The specific agenda and beliefs of Catholic-centred associations and movements, represented by associations such as Difendiamo i nostri figli, Sentinelle in piedi, Generazione Famiglia and, in the case of the Region of Sardinia and Cagliari, the Associazione famiglie numerose, become evident. In addition to these movements, official statements by the highest representatives of the Catholic Church in Italy, such as Pope Francis and Cardinal Bagnasco, clearly express the Catholic Church’s position on these matters, thus legitimising the initiatives carried out by the associations.

110Specific political agendas guiding certain initiatives and efforts to oppose the integration of a gender-perspective in education are also central to this controversy. As outlined also in the course of Phase 1, there are many political dynamics that come into play, where political parties exploit these controversies simply to attack opponents to the detriment of valuable and valid projects and initiatives, as was shown at a local level (i.e. through the articles engaging specifically with the case study of Cagliari) and at a national level (i.e. through the articles that point out, among other things, a waste of State funding when it comes to carrying out gender-responsive educational projects).