Mina, Unmarried Couples, Illegitimate Children, Divorce, and the Parental Alienation Syndrome

Mina (Anna Maria Mazzini) is an Italian singer, "known for her three-octave vocal range, the agility of her soprano voice, and her image as an emancipated woman" (via).



In the early 1960s, Mina was banned from TV and radio in Catholic Italy for two years because of her relationship with Corrado Pani, a married actor (who had been separated from his wife, divorce was not yet possible) and their son born out of wedlock. Her record sales, however, were not affected by the ban and the Italian public broadcasting service RAI had to end the ban due to public demand (via). In 1963, their son Massimiliano was born. They could, however, not live together as a family as this would have meant breaking the law against concubinage and risking two years in prison (via).

"After the ban, the public broadcasting service RAI tried to continue to prohibit her songs, which were forthright in dealing with subjects such as religion, smoking and sex. Mina's cool act combined sex appeal with public smoking, dyed blonde hair, and shaved eyebrows to create a "bad girl" image." Wikipedia

Divorce was finally legalised in Italy in 1970 (via). Fast forward a couple of decades, and Italy's government wants to introduce divorce law reforms that are seen as a threat to women's rights, autonomy, and emancipation, and have been criticised by the United Nations. The bill was proposed by conservative senator Pillon of the "hardline anti-immigration party" Lega, a man who also happens to be against gay marriage, same-sex parents and abortion, and a mediator. The bill requires all couples wanting a divorce with children to use a professional mediator (via). Pillon is one of the organisers of "Family Day", an anti-gay event that takes place every year and campaigns against the so-called "gay lobby". Pillon's next step will be "proposing a law that would punish women who accuse their husbands of domestic violence if the husbands are not convicted" and to make abortion illegal (via). With the bill, he says, he only thinks of the child, adding: "Away with maintenance cheques, away with the ideological battle of women against men." (via).



"In Italy’s conservative society, less than 50 percent of women work outside of the home, and most of the burden of child-rearing falls upon mothers. Because women with children struggle to find stable employment, critics argue that the abolition of child support would raise the poverty rate among divorced mothers and could make them unable to provide for their children. Critics fear that the bill could encourage women to stay in abusive marriages rather than opting for a divorce with no child support.
The proposed law also endorses the disputed notion of Parental Alienation Syndrome (PAS), a term first coined in the 1980s by American psychiatrist Richard Gardner. PAS holds that a parent can belittle or bad-mouth the other parent to the point that their child becomes hostile and no longer wants to spend time with them. But PAS is not listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, and the American Psychological Association has “no official position” on whether the syndrome is real, citing a lack of evidence that supports its existence.
Critics worry that claims of PAS could be used to strip custody from mothers or even be used in court to deflect attention from abusive parents. Evidence from the United States also suggests that PAS has been disproportionately used against women: According to a 2017 examination of 238 U.S. court cases involving alienation claims, fathers not only made the vast majority of alienation claims but also won their cases at a much higher rate than women making claims against men.
“Fathers who alleged alienation were more than twice as likely to receive a custody outcome in their favor as mothers who alleged alienation,” read the paper, which was published in Law & Inequality: A Journal of Theory and Practice, a law journal at the University of Minnesota Law School."
Anna Momigliano

“If a child says ‘I do not want to see my father, I am worried’, they will immediately analyse the mother for alienation syndrome and if the judge thinks they have been manipulated [the children] go to another family,” Ms Pirrone said.
All over the world, it has been proved it is a constructed syndrome – lots of psychologists say it is not scientific and now it is set to be in law.
It creates this prejudice against the mother and it is clear it will disregard domestic violence because the judges are forced to follow certain procedures and rules as this law is very strict. It means judges can’t do their job properly. They recognise that after 30 years domestic violence is being viewed as a serious issue and they are trying to push it back into the silence with a very threatening law.
This law is not even trying to hide its intent. It is against women. He has a very clear ideology and this is a very ideological law. It is punishing the woman and it is pushing them back into a very dependent situation where they are not able to take autonomous decisions or get away from a bad situation.”
Maya Oppenheim

Mina on YouTube:

::: Parole, Parole: WATCH/LISTEN
::: Io vivrò senza te (1972): WATCH/LISTEN
::: C'è più samba: WATCH/LISTEN
::: Non credere (1969): WATCH/LISTEN
::: Un bacio è troppo poco: WATCH/LISTEN
::: L'ultima occasione: WATCH/LISTEN
::: Conversazione: WATCH/LISTEN
::: Se c'è una cosa che mi fa impazzire: WATCH/LISTEN
::: Sono come tu mi vuoi: WATCH/LISTEN
::: Se telefonando: WATCH/LISTEN
::: Mai così: WATCH/LISTEN
::: Città vuota: WATCH/LISTEN
::: Fly me to the moon: WATCH/LISTEN
::: No: WATCH/LISTEN
::: Mi sei scoppiato dentro al cuore: WATCH/LISTEN
::: Non credere (1970): WATCH/LISTEN
::: L'immensità: WATCH/LISTEN
::: Something: LISTEN
::: Un colpo al cuore (1970): WATCH/LISTEN and (1968): WATCH/LISTEN
::: La banda: WATCH/LISTEN
::: Non illuderti: WATCH/LISTEN

- - - - - - - - - - -
photographs via and via and via