News of December
With December’s testimonies, we explore the world: from Greece to India, via the USA, we asked women to tell us about their individual experience of motherhood and non-motherhood, but also how this is received in the specific context of the country in which they live.
For the Impossible Monologues series, we propose that of Lilith, an archetypal character who, in modern times, has been reworked in the direction of a dissident feminine, more authentic and independent, freed from male power and its laws.
We also talk about Lilith in the Stories section with ‘Telling women’s stories to pull oneself out of the pain funnel with a string of words’, the review of ‘Lilith e Lola’ by Elianda Cazzorla, by our Claudia Mazzilli.
With this voyage of discovery of the Lunàdigas in the world, we wish you happy holidays.
See you next year with lots of news in the pipeline!
Antigone: ‘In Greece he who has no children is as if he were incomplete’
Forty-two-year-old Antigone reflects on the condition of childfree women in Greece, the country where she lives. Starting from the negative term used for people with no children, she dwells on her personal case: Antigone did not have the opportunity to have children, however, she was not pressurised and today she fears above all of being alone in old age. Regarding motherhood, she often compares herself with her friends with and without children.
Radhika: ‘In India the childless woman is considered an aberration’
Radikha, a university lecturer in Essen, reflects on the conditions of childfree women in her home country of India. Whether by choice or not, Indian women who do not experience motherhood are under great pressure and are marginalised socially and in the family context. On the other hand, the condition of poverty leads several women to practice surrogacy, putting their bodies on the market. The debate on reproductive rights in India is still a long way off.
The impossible monologue of Lilith
Vanessa Podda gives voice to Lilith’s Impossible monologue. Lilith, the antithesis of Eve, is a mythological and archetypal character crossing several cults and world religions. Dating back as early as the 3rd millennium in Mesopotamia, her iconography condenses a type of femininity considered negative: also called the ‘Black Moon’, her spirit of rebellion, uninhibited sexuality and freedom of action make Lilith a demonic and hybrid figure whose attributes are mixed with those of an animal. Described with raptor claws and bat-like wings, red hair and fiery eyes, Lilith has, in modern times, inspired artists who have reworked her traits and amplified her appeal.
Sarah and Elisabeth: ‘There is no standard of womanhood to which we must adhere’
In Washington DC, Sarah and Elisabeth, not yet in their twenties, discuss their respective evolving positions on motherhood, drawing on the experiences of their mothers and as daughters. Many themes are addressed, from the maternal instinct to personal fulfilment, passing through taboos and freedom, in a testimony that is a hymn to diversity and self-determination for each woman.
