Il ruolo del diritto nella questione di genere

The thesis addresses the various attitudes adopted by feminisms toward law, up to the conception of gender fluidity and modern anti-discrimination law. After clarifying the meaning of the concept of gender and identifying in its development the premises for the birth of the first demands for equality, it continues through the synchronic analysis of the main feminist movements and the political-legal conception they advocated. The feminism of equality of the second half of the nineteenth century is distinguished by a full confidence in legal instruments and embraces the demands for formal equality that will lead to the recognition of equal political and legal dignity of women with respect to men. The feminism of difference of the Seventies and Eighties, conversely, takes a strongly critical attitude toward law, seen as a male instrument incapable of authentically reflecting the needs of women. In this panorama, the voice of activist and lawyer MacKinnon stands out, contributing to spreading a new vision of law as an active instrument of social change, promoting numerous reforms for the recognition of substantive equality between men and women. In the Italian field, Gianformaggio's reflection stands out for originality and acuity, highlighting the fallacy of a judgment of equality where the masculine represents both an element and the parameter of comparison. In this landscape, the theory of gender fluidity bursts forth with Butler as one of its main exponents, imposing a critical review of the achievements reached by feminism until then. The abandonment of gender binarism emphasizes the need for anti-discrimination legislation that allows individuals to self-determine without seeing their rights undermined. The challenge remains open to protect various gender orientations without erasing the political figure of women, where law is asked to take an active role in accompanying social change.