Feminist and Antiracist Digital Activism By Young People with a Migrant Background As a Counternarrative to Mainstream Media Representation of Migrants
Mainstream media tend to represent migrant people and their descendants as bearers of a cultural difference which is often regarded as irreconcilable with Western values especially in relation to women’s rights. Such a position has been exacerbated by femonationalist discourses (Farris, 2017) which are used by right wing parties' leaders (but also by some feminist intellectuals) to propose anti-migrant policies based on the co-option of feminist values.
This paper explores how young people with a migrant background in the Italian context have reacted to those representations through a counternarrative on concepts of citizenship, Italian-ness, whiteness, belonging. The research is based on in-depths interviews with young activists, writers, cultural producers with a migrant background and on an analysis of their cultural products (websites, social media pages, podcasts, graphic novels). A special focus is dedicated to the intersections between feminist and antiracist activism where two groups prove particularly active: Muslim and Afro-descendent girls. Through the lenses of intersectional and postcolonial feminism (Spivak 1993, Mohanty, 1984, 2003. Ahmed 2000, Crenshaw1991), the research analyses how these groups are able to criticise the narrative of Muslim women as submissive and un-emancipated. It also shows how the representation of Black women is influenced by colonial legacies which are still largely unrecognised in the Italian context.
In conclusion, the research examines how a growing number of young people with a migratory background are becoming increasingly able to speak for themselves and to produce their own narratives. Thus, they are not only deconstructing the stereotypes they are subjected to in the media, but also questioning the cultural construction of Italian society itself.