Abstract
Studies of the pro-life movement have invariably been undertaken in relation to the pro-choice movement. The stress on comparison has tended to homogenize the two sides, thus understating their internal differences. This article extends beyond an analysis bounded by a movement―countermovement dichotomy. Based on ethnographic data and on the Italian case, it considers several questions that arise from revealing the intramovement divisions at various levels. First, there are tensions relating to the relationship between orthodoxy and institutionalized politics: how far, if at all, should there be doctrinal compromises in exchange for influence over public policy? Secondly, the conflicts over modes of action. In this respect, should protests be visible in public spaces, and if so how? These two issues govern the tense relationship between the <em>Movimento per la Vita</em> and more radical groups. Thirdly, the issue that divides the <em>Movimento </em>itself; the ongoing dialogue over the attitude to be taken towards contraception, and thus sexuality. At the heart of these intramovement struggles is the definition of what a ‘real’ pro-life movement is, and how a ‘real’ pro-life movement should mobilize. This article reveals a complex and highly fragmented image of the pro-life movement that, like every social movement of a certain size, is heterogeneous in its demographic composition, objectives and strategies. To show this complexity, the article adopts an emic approach that does not limit itself to a reading of conservative movements through the eyes of progressive movements.
Highlights
This article forms part of a thematic issue which explores how and why the feminist project is under threat in Europe
Drawing on a specific case study of the anti-abortion movement in Italy, it is argued that more attention needs to be paid to opponents of the feminist-project, and a reappraisal of the manner in which we study them is overdue
These research designs clearly had benefits, but not without some notable blind spots. Whilst it allowed the dynamic of the mobilization constituted by the movement–countermovement interaction to be discerned, it had the disadvantage of essentially insisting on the differences between the two rival camps; a comparison that has tended to homogenize the two parties and underestimate the significance of internal differences that structure each social movement
Summary
In interviews, and at events, what provoked the most heated debates were the positions of rival pro-life groups, rather than the real antagonists (the pro-choice movement) From the outset, this context guided the research to pay considerably more attention than I imagined to the internal divisions of the prolife movement―few traces of which were present in the existing literature. After a critical review of the literature on movement– countermovement dynamics, emphasizing the pro-choice/pro-life conflict, the article will consider the literature that defends an emic and ethnographic approach toward ‘distasteful social movements’ (Esseveld & Eyerman, 1992) It will outline the methodology employed in the case study before presenting the three main conflicts that were revealed within the Italian pro-life movement. The article ends with a plea for an emic approach to give a more revealing explanation of ‘ugly movements’
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