“I am the servant of the Lord” or “My uterus is mine”? Different perspectives

Abstract

Feminist thought, since its origins, has always been hampered by political, religious and social reactionary rhetoric determined to maintain a hegemonic narrative of gender roles. A strongly essentialist form of feminist thought, known as the sexual difference theory, emerged in contrast to the creation and maintenance of rigid models based on ideologies and theories defining the woman as "wife, mother and angel of the hearth". The sexual difference theory, theorized by Luce Irigaray, philosopher and psychoanalyst (1985), includes Luisa Muraro and Adriana Cavarero (1987) among its highest Italian representatives. This theory presents elements of reconciliation between  feminist thought and Christian Catholic beliefs, generally radically separated. In this study we have explored the representation of corporeality, faith and feminism in feminist activists and in catechists, in order to reflect on the current positions of the representatives of both parties in analysis.