"It is interesting to see what is happening in Italy and how the title of my book has been evoked",
Lisa Levenstein told ANSA
who asked her for a comment on the fact that Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni paraphrased the title of the his book
"They Didn't See Us Coming",
after Elly Schein had already mentioned him on the night of his victory in the Democratic Party primaries.
For the prime minister, the occasion was the presentation of the new layout of the "Women's Room" in the Chamber, where her photo was added.
For the first time in the history of Italian politics there are two women to lead the two major government and opposition parties, but the US feminist is very cautious.
"My understanding of the history of feminism and politics in the US and beyond, think
Margaret Thatcher,
for another European example, suggests that having a woman in a leading role does not necessarily mean that there will be positive political and economic change for the majority of women.
There is a long history of conservative women, who gained power through feminists' efforts to open up the political and economic system to women but who reject most feminist positions and institute right-wing policies that are harmful to women .
Just having a woman in power is not necessarily a victory for women.
If conservative women advocate policies that will actively harm other women and their children (which most right-wing politicians do), then it's not a victory for feminism to have them in office."
The situation is more complex.
"Of course, it's good for society to see that women can be just as capable as men in major political parties,
but the benefits of that message are outweighed by the downsides when those policies implement anti-feminist practices that do real harm to women and families." .
Levenstein is director of the women's, gender, and sexuality studies program and associate professor of history
at UNC Greensboro
(North Carolina).
In the volume, he traces the origins of the path with which a strong coalition is being built at the international level, focused on the growing influence of homosexual, black and activist women from the southern hemisphere.
Her work laid the groundwork for the strong feminist activism seen in recent movements, including
the 2017 Women's March and #MeToo campaigns
. "They Didn't See Us Coming," the book's original title, shows how women on the margins of society built a movement at the dawn of the digital age.