Italian same‐sex parenting in times of COVID‐19: Constructing parenthood on insecure grounds

• Published date: 01 April 2022
• Author: Salvatore Monaco
• Date: 01 April 2022
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/fare.12640

RESEARCH

Italian same-sex parenting in times of COVID-19:

Constructing parenthood on insecure grounds

Salvatore Monaco

Department of Education, Free University of

Bozen, Bolzano, Italy

Correspondence

Department of Education, Free University of

Bozen, Viale Ratisbona, Bolzano 39100, Italy.

Email: salvatore.monaco@unibz.it

Funding information

The information applied in this article

originates from the Constructions of Parenting

on Insecure Grounds (CoPInG) project,

funded by the Italian Ministry of Education,

University and Research.

[Correction added on January 22, 2022, after

first online publication: The funding statement

is included in Acknowledgments].

Abstract

Objective: This article focuses on the challenges same-sex-

parent families in Italy have faced in the context of the

COVID-19 crisis.

Background: It is universally acknowledged that Italy was

the first victim of the novel coronavirus in Europe. Due to

the hazards caused by the pandemic, the Italian govern-

ment implemented a series of countermeasures to help

families, resolving the increasingly irreconcilable conflicts

between work and childcare, providing financing to the

most poverty-stricken families. However, some initiatives

have made it clear that in Italy, not all people have

received equal benefits.

Method: To further investigate and bring awareness to the

issue of the vulnerability of Italian same-sex-parent fami-

lies in times of COVID-19, 40 in-depth interviews were

conducted online between March and June 2020 to collect

data on attitudes, opinions, and behaviors at the individual

level.

Results: Italian homosexual fathers and mothers, due to a

still uncertain regulatory framework, have been invisible

in the face of a bureaucracy remaining deeply rooted in a

rigid and obsolete vision of the social reality.

Conclusion: Italy should take into account a possible redef-

inition of family both at the political and institutional

levels. The concept of family is expected to be broader and

closer to social reality, encompassing all the possible pat-

terns of family that constitute a real supportive network

for all people, in full respect of people’s equal dignity and

self-determination.

Implications: A redefinition of what it means to be a family

is necessary not only in the acquisition of citizenship and

welfare rights of homosexual people, but above all for the

Received: 6 December 2020Revised: 20 May 2021Accepted: 11 August 2021

DOI: 10.1111/fare.12640

This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and

reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

© 2022 The Author. Family Relations published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of National Council on Family Relations.

Family Relations. 2022;71:463–474.wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/fare 463