November 2023 marked a before and an after in the Italian collective consciousness. The femicide of Giulia Cecchettin it was not “just” yet another case of crime news, but a seismic shock that activated, like never before, the Generation Z Through the ebook “In the name of Giulia. Generation Z’s courage to change”the teacher Cristina Pasqualini, sociologist at the Catholic Universitycollected the voices, fears and hopes of thousands of young people who saw in Giulia a sister, a friend, themselves.
In this interview, he addresses the most intricate issues of the present: from the need for a new masculinity to the pervasiveness of toxic languages on social media, up to commenting on the recent and controversial data that would paint today’s young people as more “traditionalists” than their grandparents. What emerges is the portrait of a generation on the move, engaged in a slow but unstoppable renegotiation of the balance of power between genders.
Why was Giulia Cecchettin’s case such a strong turning point for Generation Z?
«Giulia fully belonged to Gen Z and her story combines the ordinary with the extraordinary. She was a student with clear goals and healthy values, who had experienced the end of a relationship in a way common to many peers. What made her an icon for her generation was her moral stature: she cared about her ex-partner’s future more than herself. This identification was total because Giulia was “one of them”.
Did the family’s reaction also shift the discussion from the personal to the collective?
“Absolutely. Sister Elena transformed the pain into a political and social battle, demanding justice not only for Giulia, but for all women. The father launched messages of profound change, underlining the importance of a collective commitment so that no one else has to experience the same drama. The Foundation created in his name, recently presented at the Catholic University, focuses entirely on education as the only way for cultural transformation.”
How does patriarchy manifest itself in the small daily gestures that Gen Z is trying to undermine?
«Patriarchy is not an abstract concept; it nests in stereotypes about what is “suitable” for a man or a woman in the family, in study and at work. Gen Z has a higher awareness because they grew up with parents (Gen X) who have already started to practice equal family loads. However, the process is slow: the kids must understand that equality is not a goal achieved, but a tiring commitment to be renewed every day.”
However, children often still see the work of care falling almost entirely on their mothers. How do you overcome this discrepancy?
«The data shows that, although classic role divisions remain, many other family activities are now shared equally among Gen X parents. This is the real change underway. The imbalance that we still observe is due to the slowness of cultural processes, which are not modified by law but over the long periods of time in society.”
How are young people reacting to the need to abandon models of “toxic masculinity”?
«It is a complex path, especially for males who have enjoyed social and relational privileges for centuries. Today they have to rethink their identity in a context of collaboration and not of domination. The good news is that they are understanding how equality brings benefits to them too, improving the quality of relationships and social life in the long term.”
Trap music and misogynistic memes: are they causes of the problem or simple mirrors of an existing discomfort?
«Social networks have made languages viral that often glorify retrograde stereotypes. Gen Z, however, demonstrates a remarkable critical capacity: they know how to laugh at light irony, but become very serious when sexism touches violence. Those who have more cultural tools worry about their more fragile peers (such as NEETs or those who have dropped out of school) who may not have the ability to correctly decode these dangerous messages.”
What should be the pillars of affective education that is truly effective in schools?
«The demand from young people is enormous: at the last event in Cattolica we had over 6,000 students connected from all over Italy. It is essential that education is managed by professionals and not left to “do-it-yourself” or pornography, which for many unfortunately remains the only source of information. We cannot delegate everything to families, because not all of them have the cultural tools to deal with such complex issues.”
Recently some Ipsos data seems to paint a Gen Z that is more chauvinistic than the Boomers. What is your view on this?
«Those data are discordant with what we observe in years of studies on the condition of young people. There is resistance, it is true, but the long-term trend is clearly oriented towards emancipation and equality. We are moving from materialist values to post-materialist values. The change is slow, it goes from Boomers to Gen The old patriarchal model is not good for anyone, neither men nor women.”
