A Netnographic Study on ART in Italy: A Culturally Controversial Practice

Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART) is a clinical field that encompasses various therapeutic practices. In 2021 86,090 couples in Italy underwent treatment, with 108,067 initiated cycles and 16,625 live births. Since its introduction in 2004, Law no. 40, the first to regulate ART, has sparked widespread legal, bioethical, cultural, and social controversies. The law adopted a conservative approach, restricting access to ART to heterosexual couples, married or cohabiting, of fertile age, infertile but not sterile and without genetically transmissible diseases. The legislation aimed to promote a "traditional" family model, reflecting a Catholic context and maintaining a naturalistic procreation paradigm (Saraceno, Naldini 2021). Consequently, Law 40 raised legal and legitimacy issues, leading to amendments that expanded access to treatments. These practices address certain reproductive difficulties while challenging legal and cultural boundaries surrounding family, parenthood, and bodily autonomy (Borgna, 2005). Within a broader interdisciplinary and mixed-methods study on late parenthood, a specific strand explores the experiences of heterosexual couples undergoing ART through netnography (useful for analyzing online communities, Kozinets 2010). This research focuses on three platforms dedicated to discussing ART experiences: Forums, Facebook groups and Telegram chats. The aim is to analyze these parenthood trajectories and shared meanings among those navigating ART, which are often judged from a paternalistic and conservative viewpoint. The analysis reveals clinical challenges, cultural narratives and the crucial role of online communities in providing medical and emotional support (Rogers, 2009). These spaces foster participatory medical knowledge and offer opportunities for sharing, often absent offline due to societal insensitivity. Moreover, the predominance of women in these groups highlights a gender dimension that warrants further exploration.