Between Public and Private. Sexuality and Maternity in three 'New Women': Sibilla Aleramo,Maria Montessori, Linda Murri

Between the nineteenth and the twentieth century, the issue of women’s right to sexuality was not mentioned in any political party’s agenda, and not even by the Italian feminist movements. In a country profoundly influenced by Catholicism, women’s sexuality was not only regarded as a taboo, but was also sacrificed to the myth of motherhood, promoted by the Church, the State, and medico-anthropological sciences. However, as a few women dared to breach the boundary between public and private, their autobiographical writings served to raise awareness about women’s desire for sexual freedom. Not specifically political and to a certain extent marginal to the feminist movement, these writings were able to reach a large female audience. The essay focuses on three New Women who, in different contexts (novels, pedagogy, legal proceedings), rendered their ideas both celebrated and highly visible.