XML Template (2014) [21.10.2014–2:35pm] [1–21] //blrnas3.glyph.com/cenpro/ApplicationFiles/Journals/SAGE/3B2/JCHJ/Vol00000/140041/APPFile/SG- JCHJ140041.3d (JCH) [PREPRINTER stage] Journal of Contemporary History 0(0) 1–21 ! The Author(s) 2014 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/0022009414552869 jch.sagepub.com Article Our Bodies, Ourselves: The transnational connections of 1970s Italian and Roman feminism Maud Anne Bracke University of Glasgow, UK Abstract The article presents an approach to studying processes of transnational exchange and reception between social movements. It does so by focusing on a locally situated case study: the movement for women’s reproductive and sexual health and rights in 1970s Rome. A focal point in ‘second-wave’ Italian feminism, these groups were profoundly shaped by feminist debates and practices in, notably, the USA and France. The analysis highlights the centrality of local actors in translating, appropriating and re-(and de-)contextualizing transnational sources, thus transforming their meanings. Questioning the often automatic status ascribed to the nation-state as analytical frame- work, the article illustrates that re-contextualization equally takes place on the local (as distinct from national) level, and that these layered transfer processes are central to understanding the complexity and effectiveness of postwar social movements such as feminism. Keywords 1970s, abortion, feminism, Italy, Rome, transnationalism In 1969, I was a 51-year old divorcee living in Turin. My life had been marked by first- hand experiences of women’s inequality, but I had no words with which to talk about it. With a group of friends, women of various ages, we searched for something that could give meaning to our experiences. One of them spoke to me of Women’s Liberation in the United States. She also said that there were small groups of women in Turin, Milan and Rome who met in private homes and read American Corresponding author: Maud Anne Bracke, University of Glasgow, 1 University Gardens Glasgow, G11 8QQ, UK. Email: maud.bracke@glasgow.ac.uk