This contribution was delivered on the occasion of the EUI State of the Union in Florence on 5 Ma... more This contribution was delivered on the occasion of the EUI State of the Union in Florence on 5 May 2016.This intervention was part of the recorded SoU afternoon sessions that took place on 5 May 2016 available on Youtube; move to the part of the video session of your interest within the video recording.The panel will explore some of the intertwining links between the control of sexuality and reproduction, on the one hand, and the construction of welfare states on the other. It will also examine the influence that recent Catholic doctrines have had on these issues. In light of these considerations the panel will then turn to some contemporary legal debates, paying special attention to reproductive politics in post-socialist states (particularly Romania), to the transformation of fatherhood and masculinities in the jurisprudence of the ECtHR, and to the preconditions for gender recognition in comparative constitutional law
International Journal of Law, Policy and the Family, 2020
What was long feared by legislators and courts has now become reality: trans men give birth to th... more What was long feared by legislators and courts has now become reality: trans men give birth to their own children and request to be designated as their ‘fathers’ for the purpose of birth registration. This article sheds light on the transformative potential of such procreative scenarios and the following legal claims for fatherhood. An argument is made that they invite essential reflections on what it means to be a father today and, in so doing, they prompt a (re)construction of legal fatherhood which includes care as a relevant, paternal parameter. By focusing on ongoing cases decided by English and German courts, however, this article shows that domestic courts’ understanding of fatherhood has essentially preserved its conventionally heteronormative, biological, and mediated nature. Yet, the game is still open and an application pending before the European Court of Human Rights may breathe fresh air into the debate.
This Article offers an anthropologically informed rereading of the landmark case Neulinger and Sh... more This Article offers an anthropologically informed rereading of the landmark case Neulinger and Shuruk v. Switzerland, decided by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in 2010. This rereading is undertaken by “going beyond judgments” temporally—i.e., reconstructing the case from its origins to present—and spatially—i.e., looking at different sources of data and putting them into conversation with one another. This approach draws on anthropology both conceptually and methodologically. Not only does it address “case law” and “litigation” as creations of a variety of social and legal agents, constantly and meaningfully interacting with one another, but it also adopts a “litigant’s perspective” and creates space for acknowledging aspects of the lived experience of the applicants that have been marginalized in legal reasoning. By doing so, this Article shows that, from being strongly imbued with religious considerations, Neulinger and Shuruk came to assume a neutral framing when ente...
Questo studio prende spunto dallo scarto che, a causa di un diritto scritto non sempre al passo c... more Questo studio prende spunto dallo scarto che, a causa di un diritto scritto non sempre al passo coi tempi, viene a crearsi tra la realtà sociale concretamente vissuta dalle famiglie create ricorrendo alla procreazione medicalmente assistita (PMA) e la loro totale o parziale (in)esistenza sul piano del diritto. Oltre ad accrescere le modalità di formare la propria famiglia, l’avvento della PMA ha comportato la frammentazione delle nozioni – un tempo, unitarie – di maternità e paternità, producendo quindi potenziale confusione sul versante della determinazione dello status filiationis del nato. A fronte di una pluralità di figure potenzialmente e/o fattualmente genitoriali, la responsabilità di ‘fare ordine’ e di rispondere alle diverse istanze e ai bisogni delle famiglie moderne è caduta sulle spalle dei giudici, i quali – almeno nel contesto europeo – hanno talvolta trovato fonte d’ispirazione nella giurisprudenza della Corte europea dei diritti umani. Spingendosi oltre i confini europei, il presente studio mira pertanto ad indagare il ruolo giocato dai giudici nazionali nel ‘fare da ponte’ tra diritto e società, portando alla luce le logiche, le tecniche e i principi che hanno guidato la loro opera di ricostruzione del diritto vigente.
This paper traces the definition of fatherhood which emerges from the jurisprudence of the Europe... more This paper traces the definition of fatherhood which emerges from the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights pertaining to assisted reproduction and surrogacy. Adopting a socio-legal perspective, the jurisprudential analysis sketches a father figure which includes both change and continuity. Although biology maintains a decisive role in determining who is to be granted the paternal status, the father’s actual involvement in the children’s lives and/or his caring intentions take on an increasing importance in the reasoning of the Court. This relevance, however, is not absolute but remains contingent on the existence of a wider ‘conventional’ context. The Court, therefore, does not depart totally from the paradigm of ‘conventional fatherhood’, but 'merely' enriches the latter with the 'new' trait of care. Although a prima facie mere addition, this reconstruction of fatherhood, which revolves around the conceptualisation of care as a paternal trait (too), appears to be a first, important step towards rethinking the division of care responsibilities between men and women and, more generally, towards substantial gender equality.
This contribution was delivered on the occasion of the EUI State of the Union in Florence on 5 Ma... more This contribution was delivered on the occasion of the EUI State of the Union in Florence on 5 May 2016.This intervention was part of the recorded SoU afternoon sessions that took place on 5 May 2016 available on Youtube; move to the part of the video session of your interest within the video recording.The panel will explore some of the intertwining links between the control of sexuality and reproduction, on the one hand, and the construction of welfare states on the other. It will also examine the influence that recent Catholic doctrines have had on these issues. In light of these considerations the panel will then turn to some contemporary legal debates, paying special attention to reproductive politics in post-socialist states (particularly Romania), to the transformation of fatherhood and masculinities in the jurisprudence of the ECtHR, and to the preconditions for gender recognition in comparative constitutional law
International Journal of Law, Policy and the Family, 2020
What was long feared by legislators and courts has now become reality: trans men give birth to th... more What was long feared by legislators and courts has now become reality: trans men give birth to their own children and request to be designated as their ‘fathers’ for the purpose of birth registration. This article sheds light on the transformative potential of such procreative scenarios and the following legal claims for fatherhood. An argument is made that they invite essential reflections on what it means to be a father today and, in so doing, they prompt a (re)construction of legal fatherhood which includes care as a relevant, paternal parameter. By focusing on ongoing cases decided by English and German courts, however, this article shows that domestic courts’ understanding of fatherhood has essentially preserved its conventionally heteronormative, biological, and mediated nature. Yet, the game is still open and an application pending before the European Court of Human Rights may breathe fresh air into the debate.
This Article offers an anthropologically informed rereading of the landmark case Neulinger and Sh... more This Article offers an anthropologically informed rereading of the landmark case Neulinger and Shuruk v. Switzerland, decided by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in 2010. This rereading is undertaken by “going beyond judgments” temporally—i.e., reconstructing the case from its origins to present—and spatially—i.e., looking at different sources of data and putting them into conversation with one another. This approach draws on anthropology both conceptually and methodologically. Not only does it address “case law” and “litigation” as creations of a variety of social and legal agents, constantly and meaningfully interacting with one another, but it also adopts a “litigant’s perspective” and creates space for acknowledging aspects of the lived experience of the applicants that have been marginalized in legal reasoning. By doing so, this Article shows that, from being strongly imbued with religious considerations, Neulinger and Shuruk came to assume a neutral framing when ente...
Questo studio prende spunto dallo scarto che, a causa di un diritto scritto non sempre al passo c... more Questo studio prende spunto dallo scarto che, a causa di un diritto scritto non sempre al passo coi tempi, viene a crearsi tra la realtà sociale concretamente vissuta dalle famiglie create ricorrendo alla procreazione medicalmente assistita (PMA) e la loro totale o parziale (in)esistenza sul piano del diritto. Oltre ad accrescere le modalità di formare la propria famiglia, l’avvento della PMA ha comportato la frammentazione delle nozioni – un tempo, unitarie – di maternità e paternità, producendo quindi potenziale confusione sul versante della determinazione dello status filiationis del nato. A fronte di una pluralità di figure potenzialmente e/o fattualmente genitoriali, la responsabilità di ‘fare ordine’ e di rispondere alle diverse istanze e ai bisogni delle famiglie moderne è caduta sulle spalle dei giudici, i quali – almeno nel contesto europeo – hanno talvolta trovato fonte d’ispirazione nella giurisprudenza della Corte europea dei diritti umani. Spingendosi oltre i confini europei, il presente studio mira pertanto ad indagare il ruolo giocato dai giudici nazionali nel ‘fare da ponte’ tra diritto e società, portando alla luce le logiche, le tecniche e i principi che hanno guidato la loro opera di ricostruzione del diritto vigente.
This paper traces the definition of fatherhood which emerges from the jurisprudence of the Europe... more This paper traces the definition of fatherhood which emerges from the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights pertaining to assisted reproduction and surrogacy. Adopting a socio-legal perspective, the jurisprudential analysis sketches a father figure which includes both change and continuity. Although biology maintains a decisive role in determining who is to be granted the paternal status, the father’s actual involvement in the children’s lives and/or his caring intentions take on an increasing importance in the reasoning of the Court. This relevance, however, is not absolute but remains contingent on the existence of a wider ‘conventional’ context. The Court, therefore, does not depart totally from the paradigm of ‘conventional fatherhood’, but 'merely' enriches the latter with the 'new' trait of care. Although a prima facie mere addition, this reconstruction of fatherhood, which revolves around the conceptualisation of care as a paternal trait (too), appears to be a first, important step towards rethinking the division of care responsibilities between men and women and, more generally, towards substantial gender equality.
Questo studio prende spunto dallo scarto che, a causa di un diritto scritto non sempre al passo c... more Questo studio prende spunto dallo scarto che, a causa di un diritto scritto non sempre al passo coi tempi, viene a crearsi tra la realtà sociale concretamente vissuta dalle famiglie create ricorrendo alla procreazione medicalmente assistita (PMA) e la loro totale o parziale (in)esistenza sul piano del diritto. Oltre ad accrescere le modalità di formare la propria famiglia, l’avvento della PMA ha comportato la frammentazione delle nozioni – un tempo, unitarie – di maternità e paternità, producendo quindi potenziale confusione sul versante della determinazione dello status filiationis del nato. A fronte di una pluralità di figure potenzialmente e/o fattualmente genitoriali, la responsabilità di ‘fare ordine’ e di rispondere alle diverse istanze e ai bisogni delle famiglie moderne è caduta sulle spalle dei giudici, i quali – almeno nel contesto europeo – hanno talvolta trovato fonte d’ispirazione nella giurisprudenza della Corte europea dei diritti umani. Spingendosi oltre i confini europei, il presente studio mira pertanto ad indagare il ruolo giocato dai giudici nazionali nel ‘fare da ponte’ tra diritto e società, portando alla luce le logiche, le tecniche e i principi che hanno guidato la loro opera di ricostruzione del diritto vigente.
forthcoming in International Journal of Law, Policy and the Family, 2020
What was long feared by legislators and courts has now become reality: trans men give birth to th... more What was long feared by legislators and courts has now become reality: trans men give birth to their own children and request to be designated as their ‘fathers’ for the purpose of birth registration. This paper sheds light on the transformative potential of such procreative scenarios and the following legal claims for fatherhood. An argument is made that they invite essential reflections on what it means to be a father today and, in so doing, they prompt a (re)construction of legal fatherhood which includes care as a relevant, paternal parameter. By focusing on ongoing cases decided by English and German courts, however, this paper shows that domestic courts’ understanding of fatherhood has essentially preserved its conventionally heteronormative, biological and mediated nature. Yet, the game is still open and an application pending before the European Court of Human Rights may breathe fresh air into the debate.
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