‘INVISIBLE VIOLENCE’: MEDIA (RE)PRODUCTION OF GENDER INEQUALITY IN ITALY.

Abstract

Compared to other European countries, opportunities are limited for Italian women to fully and equally participate in Italian social life. In order to better understand Italian wo-men’s social position and gender inequality that persists in Italy, this research applies Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of symbo-lic violence. Specifically, symbolic violence is used to explain depictions of Italian women in the Italian media. Because social institutions such as the media, that reach large audien-ces, have the ability to transmit dominant cultural representa-tions, they also transmit representations of the roles of mascu-linity and feminini