The crisis-woman : body politics and the modern woman in fascist Italy / Natasha V. Chang.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Chang, Natasha V., 1971- author.

Series:

Toronto Italian studies.

Toronto Italian Studies

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Fascism and women--Italy--History--20th century.

Fascism and women.

Women in popular culture--Italy--History--20th century.

Women in popular culture.

Women--Italy--Social conditions--20th century.

Women.

Fascism--Italy--History--20th century.

Fascism.

Italy--Social conditions--1918-1945.

Italy.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (177 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Toronto, [Ontario] ; Buffalo, New York ; London, [England] : University of Toronto Press, 2015.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Femininity in the form of the donna-crisi, or “crisis-woman,” was a fixture of fascist propaganda in the early 1930s. A uniquely Italian representation of the modern woman, she was cosmopolitan, dangerously thin, and childless, the antithesis of the fascist feminine ideal – the flashpoint for a range of anxieties that included everything from the changing social roles of urban women to the slippage of stable racial boundaries between the Italian nation and its colonies.Using a rich assortment of scientific, medical, and popular literature, Natasha V. Chang’s The Crisis-Woman examines the donna-crisi’s position within the gendered body politics of fascist Italy. Challenging analyses of the era which treat modern and transgressive women as points of resistance to fascist power, Chang argues that the crisis-woman was an object of negativity within a gendered narrative of fascist modernity that pitted a sterile and decadent modernity against a healthy and fertile fascist one.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Illustrations

Acknowledgments

Introduction: Who Is the Crisis-Woman?

1. The Donna-crisi and the Fashion World: From Revolution to Regulatory Ideal

2. Scientific Discourse and the Making of the Donna-crisi

3. Esci fuori, mattacchiona!: Satirical Representations of the Donna-crisi

4. Ideologies and Economies of Crisis

Conclusion: The Decline of the Donna-crisi

Appendixes: Lyrics and Captions

Notes

Bibliography

Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

1-4426-2120-6

1-4426-2119-2

OCLC:

913977597