Natalia Aspesi in 2016

Natalia Aspesi (Italian pronunciation: [nataˈliːa ˈaspezi]; born 24 June 1929)[1] is an Italian journalist and feminist.

Life

Aspesi's father was a textile salesman, and her mother was a schoolteacher and an avowed anti-fascist. She and her older sister were raised by their mother after their father died when Aspesi was four-years-old.[1]

Aspesi attempted to work several jobs before pursuing journalism, including a schoolteacher, a waitress in Geneva, and an au pair in England. As a journalist, Aspesi has written for several newspapers, including La Notte, Il Giorno, and La Repubblica. She developed a reputation for sneaking into exclusive places for her work, including a train carriage with The Beatles and the hospital room of Gino Paoli.[1]

Aspesi identifies as a feminist.[2] She has criticized online feminism and American feminism, which she describes as victim feminism, criticizing catcalling and body positivity as trivial issues relative to past focuses of feminism.[3] She has criticized the #MeToo movement and the publicizing of the Harvey Weinstein sexual abuse cases, arguing that they did not advance the cause of feminism.[4] She is an outspoken opponent of critic of the Five Star Movement.[5]

Aspesi criticized Tolkien's works and considered it "a bit naziskin".[6][7]

Aspesi did not take seriously the expectation that women should marry young; she eventually partnered with Antonio Sirtori, and the two remained together for 38 years until Sirtori's death in 2012.[1] Aspesi suffered a stroke in 2023, causing her to intermittently lose consciousness for ten days.[8]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Soncini, Di Guia (23 May 2019). "Diventare La (Natalia) Aspesi. Vademecum per ragazze sveglie" [Becoming (Natalia) Aspesi. Handbook for smart girls]. ELLE (in Italian). Retrieved 25 March 2023.
  2. ^ Torrisi, Claudia (20 October 2017). "Harvey Weinstein: Italian media coverage of the scandal has been predictably outrageous". openDemocracy. Retrieved 25 March 2023.
  3. ^ ""Femministe vittimistiche. E Biancaneve si diverta". Le "stoccate" di Natalia Aspesi" ["Victim feminists. Snow White? Be the w......e". The "stocks". Natalia Aspesi]. ilGiornale.it (in Italian). 24 May 2021. Retrieved 25 March 2023.
  4. ^ Pagani, Malcom (11 October 2017). "Weinstein, Natalia Aspesi: «Se mi chiedi un massaggio in ufficio e io te lo concedo, poi non mi posso stupire su come va a finire»" [Weinstein, Natalia Aspesi: "If you ask me for a massage in the office and I'll give it to you, then I can't be surprised at how it ends"]. Vanity Fair Italia (in Italian). Retrieved 25 March 2023.
  5. ^ "Natalia Aspesi: "Sono una vecchia strega che fantastica ogni genere di crudeltà contro Salvini e Di Maio"" [Natalia Aspesi: “I am an old witch who fantasizes about all kinds of cruelty against Salvini and Di Maio”]. Il Fatto Quotidiano (in Italian). 17 June 2019. Retrieved 25 March 2023.
  6. ^ Di Giorgio, Massimiliano (16 August 2012) [2001]. "Tolkien, i fasci e qualche equivoco" (blog) (in Italian). [...] famosa saga fantasy, un po' naziskin, scritta dal filologo inglese J.R. Talkien [sic] che, data la sua passione per la mitologia celtica, entrerà certamente nelle scuole formigonbossiane della Lombardia come testo base di storia patria.
  7. ^ N. Aspesi, "L'invasione degli hobbit", «La Repubblica», may 11 2001
  8. ^ "Natalia Aspesi, 93 anni, colpita da ictus: «Scusate se per una volta scrivo di me»" [Natalia Aspesi, 93, affected by a stroke: "Sorry if I write about myself for once"]. Corriere della Sera (in Italian). 4 March 2023. Retrieved 25 March 2023.
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