Fighting about (Sexual) Citizenship: Italy’s “Nature or Culture” Dilemma

Recent public debate in Italy has been noteworthy for its renewed focus on issues of gender and sexual citizenship. The discussion is well summarized and symbolized by two opposing political discourses that have been engaged in a lengthy struggle. On one side stands a neo-conservative Catholic movement that opposes the recognition of LGBTQ relationships and defends “the natural family”. On the other side there are the LGBTQ movements, which are claiming full civil, social and sexual citizenship. The present article analyzes this conflict, which was clearly illustrated by two public events held in Rome in June 2015 (Family Day and the Rome LGBTQ Pride). The paper, methodologically based on Critical Discourse Analysis, examines the most relevant political documents (manifestos and press releases) issued by the organizers of the two demonstrations, highlighting the existence of ambivalent discourses on the naturalization of sex and the universalization of social and sexual citizenship.O debate público tem sido recentemente marcado em Itália por um renovado interesse pelas questões de género e cidadania sexual. Mais especificamente, destacam-se dois discursos políticos antagónicos envolvidos numa longa contenda que sintetizam e simbolizam claramente este debate. De um lado encontra-se o movimento católico neoconservador que se opõe ao reconhecimento das elações LGBTQ e defende a “família natural”. Do outro, os movimentos LGBT, que reivindicam a plena cidadania civil, social e sexual. No presente artigo analisa-se este conflito, que se manifestou muito claramente por ocasião de dois eventos públicos que tiveram lugar em Roma em junho de 2015: o Dia da Família e a Marcha do Orgulho LGBTQI. Através de uma metodologia baseada na Análise Crítica do Discurso, examinam-se os documentos políticos mais relevantes (manifestos e comunicados de imprensa) emitidos pelos organizadores dos dois eventos e destaca-se a presença de discursos ambivalentes sobre a naturalização do sexo e a universalização da cidadania social e sexual.En Italie, le débat public a récemment été marqué par un regain d’intérêt envers les questions de genre et de citoyenneté sexuelle. Plus spécifiquement, il existe deux discours politiques antagoniques engagés dans une longue dispute qui synthétisent et symbolisent clairement ce débat. D’un côté, nous trouvons le mouvement catholique néoconservateur qui s’oppose à la reconnaissance des relations LGBTQ et défend la “famille naturelle”. De l’autre, il existe des mouvements LGBT, qui revendiquent la pleine citoyenneté civile, sociale et sexuelle. Dans cet article nous nous penchons sur l’analyse de ce conflit, qui s’est clairement manifesté à l’occasion de deux évènements publics qui eurent lieu à Rome en juin 2015: la Journée de la Famille et la Marche des Fiertés LGBTQI. En passant par une méthodologie qui repose sur l’Analyse Critique du Discours, nous examinons les documents politiques les plus importants (manifestes et communiqués de presse) émis par les organisateurs des deux évènements et nous soulignons la présence de discours ambigus sur la naturalisation du sexe et l’universalisation de la citoyenneté sociale et sexuelle