The critical role of gender masquerade in contemporary Italian crime fiction

This article explores masquerade as a category that structures complex tensions within crime narratives and as an ‘enabling fantasy’ offering a re-evaluation of the cultural constructs defining the crime genre, particularly regarding gender and sexuality. Focusing on recent Italian crime television productions, the study juxtaposes conventionally ‘masculine’ female detective models influenced by Nordic noir with Mediterranean models aligned with ‘traditional’ femininity. The first trend is exemplified by and Vanina – Un vicequestore a Catania (‘Vanina: A deputy commissioner in Catania’) (2024–present). The second focuses on Le indagini di Lolita Lobosco ( Lolita Lobosco ) (2021–present). This comparison reflects on female detectives as figures of excess, problematizing both excessive femininity and masculinity, while referencing constructs like ‘Marlowe in drag’ or ‘detective in skirts’. Beyond literal instances of cross-dressing, the article reconfigures masquerade as a device that shapes and challenges contemporary sexual and cultural norms, as well as crime genre conventions.