ABSTRACT
As media are rapidly developing, social movements and activists are increasingly taking advantage of the opportunities provided by the wide range of communication tools and platforms to organize their networks, form collective identities and develop new languages of resistance to counteract anti-gender and homophobic discourse. The research presented in this book has set three main objectives: (1) analyze and study the organizational communication practices of Italian LGBTQI actors since these have never been thoroughly explored by both scholars and practitioners; (2) investigate digital media activism practices, and how, through artifacts of political engagement, activists are championing social change through non-violent communications; and, finally, (3) examine the effects that the implementation of Law 76/2016 on civil unions had on the online discourses and attitudes of the Italian public prior to and after its enactment, and whether legal means are enough to combat hate, attain justice and promote a culture of human rights and peace. This chapter presents the major findings.
