Feminism and the family: mothers and children, between love, rights and duties, in Effe magazine 1973–82

The 1970s saw intense discussions among feminists about the patriarchal family. While radical feminists called for complete withdrawal from marriage and motherhood, others attempted to reconfigure the roles of parents and children in the light of feminism. A particularly vibrant discussion unfolded in the feminist magazine Effe, published in Rome between 1973 and 1982, evolving from a largely negative to a more nuanced view of motherhood by the late 1970s. The notion of love was central. Effe writers asked how love could be separated from care and if it was really so natural. They stressed how maternal love needed to be balanced with children’s need for freedom and autonomy and reflected on their experiences as daughters as well as mothers. While excessive love could be harmful, there was radical potential in the notion of the loved and wanted child. Many proposed collective solutions to child-rearing, while others stressed the sensual pleasures of motherhood. Using a history of the emotions lens, this article teases out the complexities and contradictions of Italian feminist thinking about motherhood. Although the space for more positive evaluations expanded over time, Effe was ultimately more successful in reclaiming pregnancy as a feminist experience than motherhood itself.