On 23^rd March 2018 I gave a lecture at ARG-GS on why the topic of ‘gestational surrogacy’ has proved to be such a divisive issue in the Italian context in the last three years and how this debate has impacted the feminist and the LGBT and Queer movement and their mutual relationship. In my lecture, I gave an overview on the phenomenon of ‘gestational surrogacy’ and I analysed both feminist critiques, as well as queer engagements, with the practice. In particular, I highlighted the opposition between feminism of equality and feminism of difference when it comes to the theme of surrogacy in relation to issues of feminine exploitation, neoliberal and capitalistic underpinnings of the practice, and its problematic neo-colonial features, particularly when it is carried out in countries like Nepal, India, etc. At the same time, I have also touched on liberal arguments concerning the concept of women’s freedom and autonomy in deciding how to make use of their own bodies and reproductive capabilities. In synthesis, I tried to convey the problematic character of this debate, as well as the existence of a difficulty in ascertaining where the line should be drawn in regulating and/or proscribing the practice of ‘gestational surrogacy’.

The lecture delved into an analysis of the debate in Italy between feminist and LGBT and queer activists. In particular, I have analysed printed and on-line contributions that have constituted the backbone of the debate and caused significant controversy in the country. I have sought to highlight how the internal divisions between the LGBT and the feminist movements have played in favour of conservative actors who have seized this opportunity to articulate a narrative of ‘moral panic’ surrounding the issue of ‘gestational surrogacy’. Furthermore, in the lecture, I have sought to highlight how the focus on this relatively peripheral issue has overshadowed more prominent issues relating to women’s and LGBT rights in Italy, such as widespread gendered and homo/transphobic violence, lack of rights for children already living in LGBT families, as well as laws relating to the legal status of trans and intersex persons.

Ultimately, this lecture aimed at showing that the controversy on ‘gestational surrogacy’ in Italy is a symptom of a wider malaise cross-cutting feminist and LGBT movements in relation to the meaning of ‘feminism’ today, who gets to be included in it and who can speak on behalf of women and other minorities. This issue does not only appear relevant in the Italian context, as controversial discussions on the nature, tools and objectives of feminism and emancipatory work for all minorities are currently carried out in different countries across the world. The relevance of this research is to shed light on the dynamics whereby social movements whose values are fundamentally aligned – such as the feminist and the LGBT movements – come to clash over issues that relate to different ways of conceiving rights along the axis of freedom or equality.