Was i cursed? Was i hypnotized? Ethnic Moralism, Sexual Dilemmas and Spectral Fantasies of Italians in Australia (1956-1964)

The article considers the relation between gender, sex and identity in the context of Italian migration to Australia, between the late 1950s and the early 1960s, through the analysis of a series of letters written by migrants to Lena Gustin, the editor of two columns for the Italian newspaper in Australia La Fiamma. The first part of the article focuses on ethnic moralism, ethnic misogyny and the generational gap between Italian migrants and their children. The second part argues that sexual fantasies and dilemmas played a central role in the everyday life of migrants, and in the elaboration of their sexual and ethnic identities.