When we think of xenophobia, often we are susceptible to oversimplifying it, without considering the intersectionality of gender and race. Historically, antisemitism has largely existed within a repressive hetero-normative framework of gender identity and sexuality. Considering Antisemitism in Victorian England then, it’s important to take on a gendered perspective, looking at the relationship between Judeophobia and conceived ‘masculinity’.
In reading George Mosse’s historical tracing of manliness, one gets the impression of an author who appears omniscient of masculinity’s insidiousness and is also personally encumbered by the subject matter at hand. Oppressed both by totalitarianism and, as a gay man, it is no wonder that he has a keen eye for the inner workings of stifling social structures, having been trapped within their labyrinthine chambers for large swathes of his life.
