When I think about social conflicts, two immediately come to mind: Old vs. Young and Men vs. Women.
The first one doesn’t affect me as much—I’ve always had a fascination with old age and enjoy friendships across generations. But I know plenty of people who fight these battles, and I’m sure they have their reasons. The second one, however, makes my blood boil. In every aspect of my life, I feel like I’ve been fighting against the opposite sex. Ever since fifth grade, when Federico, my eight-year-old classmate, went from being my childhood friend to my sworn enemy, this struggle has been present. I could start my personal Men vs. Women history right there—with Federico—and continue with a long list of 1,000 other names that have shaped my ongoing fight. A fight that has always led me, and still leads me, to issues of gender.
At its core, I think this fight stems from a deep frustration and a sense of inequality that I have personally felt in male-dominated spaces—or, honestly, in almost every encounter with masculinity. When I realized that I wasn’t the only one feeling this way—that it was a widespread phenomenon across my entire country—I made the blissful decision in 2021 to move to France, where, at least from this perspective, things seemed better. Then, under some strange cosmic alignment (probably called Brain Drain Reversal), I found myself back in Italy.
Even though I constantly complain about these gender issues, I have, in the end, been accepted in most places—and I’m grateful for that. But still, it’s not enough.
How much do you want, Silvia?
Apparently, too much. Because seeing that gender inequality still hasn’t been resolved on a societal level is just not something I can ignore.
The key word here is purpose, and maybe this personal story can help explain that invisible force that drives a group of people to take action in the world. Purpose is what pushes people to start initiatives—even in an entrepreneurial sense, even in leadership. And isn’t it true that without fire, without conflict, there isn’t much drive?
One of the first questions I ask when I meet a founder (or, more rarely, a foundress) is: Why? Why do you want to do this thing? Why not something else?
The next challenge is expanding that purpose—taking the initial drive and growing it through the aggregation of others. Because the moment a project gathers people around it, that original fire is no longer just “his” or “hers”—it becomes theirs. This requires letting go, in some ways, of the personal battle to allow for collective evolution.
A startup, in the end, is much more plural than we think. We’re used to identifying a company with its leader, but that’s not always the case. I know of a business where customers no longer refer to the company by its name—they call it “the guys from [Company Name]”. I find this shift fascinating because it somehow bridges one of the two major social conflicts I mentioned at the beginning.
So maybe, one day, the gender issue that makes my blood boil will also be solved on a societal level? At this moment, I don’t think so. And honestly, I’d much rather be sipping a Saint Germain Spritz in Place de la Concorde (which, by the way, Italians just call an Hugo) than sitting here talking about feminism in Italy.
But if I don’t do it—if we don’t do it—then who will?
So, I encourage all readers of this column to fill their lives with feminist books, experiences, and, yes, feminist children. Let’s not forget that the word feminism was coined in opposition to the patriarchal structure of our society, a structure that has reached its final stop and has long worn out its welcome—even among goats. And goats, as I imagine them peacefully chewing grass, almost never get tired of anything.
As for me, I’ll leave you here, still trying to figure out what I need to give up to transform this battle from mere complaints into something that truly belongs to others as well. Sometimes, I wonder if I should abandon my warlike spirit altogether.
And yet, whenever that thought creeps in, I remind myself that, in case of doubt, it’s always better to write—or to embrace boredom. Maybe, from that, something good will come.
So here’s the comic strip I’ve drawn—though, given my limited artistic talent, take it with a grain of salt.
