Women's Role In Racist Italy

The major aspects affecting women under Mussolini’s reign in fascist Italy were the massive push for pro-natalist movements, Mussolini dreamed of a vast nation of fascist Italian soldiers having children with fascist Italian mothers that then gave birth to squads of fascist Italian children. He attempted this by introducing new laws and policies that limited the education on modern contraceptives, making abortions illegal, and giving incentives to women who could meet a “quota” on children birthed, some “quotas” being as high as seven or more depending on the job that the husband possessed. Although Mussolini’s attempt at growing a nation of massively multiplying Italian fascists failed, the ramifications on Italy as a whole can still be seen today. Women’s role in Mussolini’s Italy was nothing more than baby factories and mothers, he did not want them to aspire to be anything more or be anything more and the laws and policies he established portray this idea very clearly. These policies overflowed into the media and were easily visible, although not at the time, in the films that the culture was producing at the time.

Men were supposed to go to work, or to war, come home to their wives and children and make more children, if they did not have a wife they were given incentives to find one and start making children as soon as possible. The incentives to find a wife was inflicted upon the men by taxing them more for not having a wife. Incentives were also given to the wives as well in forms of awards for most children gestated in a year, awards for women who produced more than five children (which was the states “quota” on children), money payouts sometimes reaching a thousand euro, tax breaks, and then family loans that were erased if enough children were had in a time