Dollies for the Duce: the politics of playtime in Fascist Italy.

To foreground this study of early childhood play under Italian Fascism, this article opens by exploring the relationship between Fascism and youth culture in the broad terms of dictatorial governance and gendered approaches to the citizenry. Fascist demographic policy and projects centres this inquiry. First, legislation shows how low birthrates provided as a primary catalyst for the regime's obsession with the rites of childhood. Then, architectural plans of nurseries and summer camps to demonstrate how Fascist youth policy took physical form. At the heart of the narrative lie three interlinked case studies of interwar toys. Moving the Balilla baby dolls to miniature muskets and pistols, I show how these toys prompted forms of play that were specific to life under the dictatorship. At stake in these playthings lies the Fascist pedagogy of play. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]