The Lesbian (s’) Body in Italy

The 2023 Italian translation of The Lesbian Body by Monique Wittig offers an opportunity to reconsider the author as an important figure in the history of feminism and the lesbian movement in Italy. Since its first translation in 1976, the text has fascinated the Italian women’s movement, even though Wittig’s original vision was partly obscured by the dominance of sexual difference theory, which framed lesbianism as an experience internal to sexual difference, rather than as a political rupture with the heterosexual order. Focusing on translation as a site of political action and feminist conflict, this article compares the 1976 and 2023 Italian translations within their respective historical contexts and in relation to the evolution of Italian feminism, highlighting the shifting cultural and political significance of The Lesbian Body in Italy and Wittig’s enduring power to unsettle, provoke, and inspire readers across generations.