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On 27 October 2021, with 154 votes against, 131 in favor and two abstentions, the Senate definitively interrupted the legislative process of the “Zan Bill” which, despite its limitations, was the first concrete attempt to adapt the penal code to the European directives on homolesbotransphobia. Yet, with frequent attacks and unacceptable disparities, the phenomenon is widespread and increasingly worrying in the country. It is a painful political and social defeat because denying rights to a part of the community endangers it all.
After about two years of redrafting, amendments, heated discussions and long periods of review by the committees, Chamber of Deputies approved in November 2020 the “Ddl Zan” bill named after the MP who proposed it.
The bill proposed to extend the penalties provided for crimes with a racial, ethnic, national and religious background by the “Mancino Law” of 1993 to the crimes of discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity, ableism [1] and “violence against women”.
The center-right powers immediately opposed its approval and some criticisms also came from members of the left wing and parts of the LGBTQIA+[2] community who considered the bill as “bungled and ideological.”
Shortly before its discussion in the Senate, scheduled for last July, the Vatican asked the government to reform it, arguing that it threatened the rights guaranteed to Catholics by the Concordat[3]. Among the most controversial points, is the celebration of the national day against homophobia and transphobia established on 17 May, the day on which, in 1990, the World Health Organization eliminated homosexuality from the list of mental illnesses.
Although the bill allows one to adhere to it or not, the more conservative accuse it of wanting to impose the “gender theory” in schools, hypothesizing a world conspiracy for the destruction of the “natural family” starting from the elimination of the differences between men and women.
With 154 votes against, 131 in favor and two abstentions, the Senate definitively interrupted the legislative process on 27 October with a parliamentary procedure called a “trap” which allows a law to be blocked without examining its articles.
The political parties Lega and Fratelli d’Italia called for, and obtained, the secret ballot and the supporters of the bill lacked at least 16 votes among those foreseen. It will be possible to resubmit the text to the chambers six months later, but the political agreement now seems impossible: this halt could be the definitive one. On the evening of 28 October, thousands of people took to the Italian squares to protest its sinking.
According to a study conducted in Milan and Rome by economists at Cornell University, if a candidate’s CV suggests homosexual preferences, the possibility of being called up for an interview drops by 30%.
A dangerous legal vacuum
In 2004, The European Parliament urged Member States to take measures against homotransphobia. In 2011, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights expressed concern about discrimination against LGBTQIA+ communities and in 2016 included their rights among human rights.
In Spain, the homophobic discourse has been an aggravating factor in hate crimes since 1995. In France, the crime of discrimination has included homophobia since 2003. In Germany, gender-based violence is punished more severely than others and in Sweden, those who threaten or despise homosexuals risk 4 years in prison.
This year, Norway celebrates 40 years of anti-homophobia law and even Portugal, the Netherlands, Denmark, the United Kingdom, Romania, Lithuania, Ireland, Iceland, Finland, Greece, Luxembourg and Austria have adopted specific provisions in this regard over time.
Although homolesbotransphobia has always been a widespread -and increasingly worrying- phenomenon in Italy, the Ddl Zan represented the first concrete attempt to bring our penal code into compliance.
According to the Rainbow Europe Report those who belong to this community are recognized 23% of the rights guaranteed to other Italians. 62% never or never fully declare their sexual orientation and do not hold their partner’s hand in public for fear of aggression, while 92% think that the government does not wage an effective struggle against intolerance and prejudice.
Between 2019 and 2020, Arcigay, the oldest Italian association for LGBTQIA+ rights that has the largest number of branches, recorded 138 episodes of violence, more than half occurring in the north where the hate speech of some politicians is often steeped in transphobia. The recent lockdowns have fueled domestic attacks everywhere, but the figures are underestimated because many victims do not press charges.
Services of first reception, psychological, health, legal and medical counselling are still present in a very sporadic way across the territory: more present in the center-north and almost totally absent in the south and on the islands. Those who undertake the transition process must often move to find associations that act as a “bridge” with the authorized hospitals.
I’m not homolesbotransphobic, but…
Discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity can sometimes take more subtle forms than explicit verbal or physical aggression. According to a study conducted in Milan and Rome by economists at Cornell University, if a candidate’s CV suggests homosexual preferences, for instance by indicating internships in “rainbow” associations, the possibility of being called up for an interview drops by 30%. A Research conducted by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights reveals that one in three people are penalized for being trans when looking for a job and one in four suffers discrimination in the office. 60% of cases involve trans women.
“In the collective imagination, trans women are a transgression, a perversion, half man and half woman mythological beings that are naughty and nymphomaniacs, modern Bacchantes capable of satisfying themselves and men in a circle of perdition”, writes Enrica Scielzo, the image consultant who speaks about her transition on her blog. She explains that contrary to the widespread prejudice that they are intended exclusively for the sex market, many achieve great professional successes.
Tokyo 2020 to have most LGBTQ athletes ever: At least 163 members of the LGBTQIA+ community participated in “Tokyo 2020”, renamed “the most rainbow Olympics ever”. More than double when compared to the Rio edition and 8 times more than that of London in 2012 where there were just 23.
Discrimination also concerns environments commonly considered as “gay friendly”, says Sicilian designer Cori Amenta, celebrity stylist for a well-known Italian brand. “As long as I was gay everything was fine. I was considered charming and glamorous. However, two months after my breast surgery I was mysteriously fired on the spot. The motivation was overstaffing, even though I was the only one doing my job.”
In her thirty-year clinical experience, the psychotherapist Anna Rita Ravenna has encountered frequent cases of professional transphobic motivated discrimination. “Many people who had not made the registry change reported to me about long internships and months of probation before being employed but, despite being skilled and suitable for the required roles and being absolutely compliant with the gender identity with which they presented themselves, at the time of document delivery, they were promptly excluded,” she explains.
As the Supervisor of the SAIFIP, the Servizio per l’Adeguamento tra Identità Fisica e Identità Psichica[4] at the San Camillo Hospital in Rome, Ravenna was one of the first Italians to deal with transition.
“Living in the way that is considered most suitable for oneself does not harm the freedom of others and does not harm anyone,” she states.
“By stigmatizing, excluding and attacking these people, we express our personal and cultural difficulty in understanding and welcoming a diversity that is an integral part of the richness of the world in which we live. When reality proves to be more complex and different, culture and norms must adapt.”
Ravenna recalls that in nature, many plants and animals have non-binary behaviors. She adds: “In India, Indonesia, Mexico, Thailand, Borneo, Oman and among Native Americans, there are more than two genders and even in Naples on the ancient temple of Cybele, the Catholic Church built the sanctuary of Our Lady of Montevergine, protector of femminielli[5]”.
“Gender archaeology” has recently confirmed the existence of gender fluid people in the most ancient civilizations, demonstrating how much the cataloguing of the finds has been affected by the sexist prejudices of researchers, mainly males, whites and heterosexuals.
“In the collective imagination, trans women are a transgression, a perversion, half man and half woman mythological beings that are naughty and nymphomaniacs…”
Words are important
Language has the power to reflect and shape attitudes, behaviors and perceptions of those who use it, conveying cognitive biases that strengthen stereotypes and cultural conditioning. Offensive, imprecise or deliberately incorrect definitions of gender help to crystallize social roles in the male/female, man/woman polarization imposed by the prevailing gender binarism.
“Those who identify with the gender assigned at birth[6] are called cisgender (on this side of gender), contrary to those who perceive themselves as transgender (on the other side). Those who cannot, or do not want to submit to binary logic are defined as non-binary, agender, gender fluid or queer, from the English “strange, eccentric,” which initially referred to homosexual people in a derogatory way. It is now used and reclaimed by them to define who they are. Gender identity should not be confused with sexual orientation: the first refers to the subjective perception of oneself while the second refers to the attraction towards one, the other or both sexes from a binary perspective, or towards transgender people in all the different variations,” explains Ravenna.
“Another important distinction, which I would keep, is between transgender and transsexual, the latter term being used to refer to those who undergo surgery to take on the somatic characteristics of the other sex.”
An unknown and misunderstood universe
Over the past few decades, medicine has allowed a reunion between soma and psyche with interventions, hormonal treatments and specific psychological support pathways. “It was Law 164 (1982) that made Italy the third European country to legally recognize the status of the transsexual person, after Sweden (1972) and Germany (1980)”, recalls Ravenna. “It was a regulatory advance that did not fully convince us, and yet, no one dared ask for a revision for fear that the situation would devolve instead of progressing.”
In 1990, the Lazio region issued Law 59 that establishes the SAIFIP, set up two years later. “As psychologists, our intent was not only to emotionally support the person in the adjustment path between physical and psychic identity, or vice-versa, but to help them integrate aspects normally considered as self-exclusion into their life in transformation in a perspective of self-acceptance above all. It was essential to understand the complexity of a largely unknown and often misunderstood universe, whose infinite intersections at the level of affection and sexual practices completely overturned the stereotypes of the predominant gender binarism.”
“The obligation to undergo surgery to obtain legal rectification is perceived as violent blackmail by trans people.”
Many research and support experiences already existed abroad, especially in Great Britain, the United States and Canada. “There were also similar situations in Germany,” continues the therapist, “where you could ask for a change of registry on the documents without having to go through the surgical procedure, something that is unthinkable even today, even if significant improvements have occurred over time.”
The obligation to undergo surgery to obtain legal rectification is perceived as violent blackmail by trans people, unless surgery is their free choice. Furthermore, in order to undertake the path, a diagnosis of gender dysphoria is still required, that is, inclusion in a pathological category.
Ravenna explains, “many people initially refused psychotherapy support, considering it a very devaluing stigma. But getting out of the definition of pathology risked closing access to public services.” She adds, “we obtained that the judge of the first hearing, who authorized hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and the surgical removal of biologically healthy organs, was based on the certifications presented by the person without the mandatory intervention of an often-unprepared appointed Technical Consultant, and that it did not ask for further investigations if the documentation came from the specialized public service. A judicial channel devoted to these procedures did not yet exist, but we pushed for the same judges to always deal with them, and over time they acquired specific skills. Initially very slow and disarticulated, the process was partially simplified by these steps.”
The first wave of “coming out” mainly concerned biological women, who made the transition more easily from a category commonly considered “weak” to a “strong” one (FtM, from female to male) whole today, MtF (male to female) interventions are prevalent.
“One of the main difficulties faced by these people is loneliness which often results in a very painful isolation,” concludes Ravenna. A study by the National Library of Medicine confirms that the suicide rate among transgender people is higher than in the rest of the population.
“Contemporary feminism risks reiterating the same binary logic of the patriarchy it combats”
Towards a new feminism?
In “Il corpo elettrico. Il desiderio nel femminismo che verrà[7]”, Jennifer Guerra criticizes the widespread tendency to exclude trans women from the movement. Monopolized by white cisgender and heterosexual middle-class women, she writes, contemporary feminism risks reiterating the same binary logic of the patriarchy it combats.
The activist Rebecca Solnit also believes that an inclusive approach is fundamental. She stresses that “you can’t be a feminist if you’re not for everyone’s human rights, notably other women’s rights.” In an interview, the philosopher Judith Butler explains: “The category of woman can and does change, and we need it to be that way. Politically, securing greater freedoms for women requires that we rethink the category of “women” to include those new possibilities. The historical meaning of gender can change as its norms are re-enacted, refused or recreated. So, we should not be surprised or opposed when the category of women expands to include trans women.”
Transgender Day of Remembrance is celebrated on 21 November in memory of all the victims of homolesbotransphobia. A precious occasion to remember, to paraphrase Orwell, that “either we all live in a decent world, or nobody does.”