Jewish MasculinityEssay Preview: Jewish MasculinityReport this essayThe Nice Jewish boy is a stereotype of Jewish masculinity which circulates within the American Jewish community, as well as in mainstream American culture which has been influenced by the Jewish minority. In the Jewish Journal there is an article describing a young boys Barmitzfa in �Today I Am a Man’, by Rabbi Ed Feinstein. He goes on to speak about how �Today I am a man. But what do you know about being a man? A Jewish man?’. Strong men as the judge Samson, blessed with his superhuman strength, with aggressive and impulsive behavior and lustful attraction is not what Jewish men are personified in American culture. It is a lingering stereotype that has undoubtedly been satisfied by Jewish men as a �weak’ minority. These unanswered questions about Jewish men are only becoming more prominent and involved in society because of the supposed need of Jewish men to deny, excuse and explain themselves and their stereotype.
Harry Brod in Redeeming Men, Religion and Masculinities in Chapter 11 focuses on the ideas of power and powerlessness in relation to its stereotype. At points it is hard to see his arguments as valid and not as a defense against the stereotype, but it makes the piece all the more interesting. He explains the arise of many classic, American comic book characters that were created by Jewish men. Surprising, these strapping characters with their defined jaw-lines and endless courage to defend our country and its people, look nothing like an average Jewish man and perhaps is seen as though they were compensating for something that they themselves lack. It is hard to imagine Superman and Batman as Jewish because of their appearance and their unquestionable courage.
The comic is a clever way to defend the stereotypes, especially in the case of Superman. Unlike all superhero movies of the ’60s and the ’70s, there is no obvious way of identifying Batman and not drawing a caricature of the character as either good or bad, that Batman looks like a typical American man or he is from an American city. He is a Jewish man and his job is not much different from any other. He’s even more Jewish than most of the characters he portrays, although more so than he would be from any other place in America. This sort of caricature of Batman was designed to be a way to draw white male stereotypes in the eyes of the mainstream media and to keep them off the screen. Batman was supposed to be a normal, heroic, cool-guy, but he’s a Jew. Superman and Batman could be compared to this, but it’s easier to see him less as a heroic character, a man with the power of Superman over a Jewish man with the power of Wonder Woman, or an American hero such as Superman has. The only real difference is that there’s no Jewish representation of Batman and Superman in the comics because he was not a man who could be described as a Jewish man. Batman actually had to be an American hero himself because his character didn’t live up to its own stereotypes but he lives up to his own ideas. This comic is, in fact, a very good representation of Batman.
The character’s main flaw lies in the fact Superman’s origins in the New Age Jewish community of the 1940s and 1950s. The story gives it a Jewish-American counterpart, but it doesn’t do more than say that his ancestry is Jewish from Germany and that he is Jewish from Central America. Superman has his own Jewish heritage, but he wasn’t allowed in his country so that would be an obvious reference. Superman has been portrayed as a hero by the mainstream media for at least 90 years, and the only explanation you can make for his Jewish ancestry is that when he was a kid the kids hated him or used to hate him. Superheroes always have very difficult times while playing heroes because they live lives of Jewish blood.
For the most part, Marvel Comics were the only white superhero company that was willing to do away with the stereotypes, so they were well-equipped to create characters in any style and would even use them occasionally. This allowed them to create more characters like Superman, who was less of a superhero than Batman, to make a movie while still being Jewish. If these were not the standards set by most of Marvel Comics, then it may be just plain as an outdated way of doing superhero movies. Because of how often white comic book heroes have portrayed Jewish characters, people will start to assume that these superhero characters are actually heroes. It is obvious that Jews are stereotyped and stereotyped from the very start, and we learn from the stories of various Native Americans and Arabs and Jews all over this country that they are human. They were only ever described as “man” or “Man from Jerusalem”,
The comic is a clever way to defend the stereotypes, especially in the case of Superman. Unlike all superhero movies of the ’60s and the ’70s, there is no obvious way of identifying Batman and not drawing a caricature of the character as either good or bad, that Batman looks like a typical American man or he is from an American city. He is a Jewish man and his job is not much different from any other. He’s even more Jewish than most of the characters he portrays, although more so than he would be from any other place in America. This sort of caricature of Batman was designed to be a way to draw white male stereotypes in the eyes of the mainstream media and to keep them off the screen. Batman was supposed to be a normal, heroic, cool-guy, but he’s a Jew. Superman and Batman could be compared to this, but it’s easier to see him less as a heroic character, a man with the power of Superman over a Jewish man with the power of Wonder Woman, or an American hero such as Superman has. The only real difference is that there’s no Jewish representation of Batman and Superman in the comics because he was not a man who could be described as a Jewish man. Batman actually had to be an American hero himself because his character didn’t live up to its own stereotypes but he lives up to his own ideas. This comic is, in fact, a very good representation of Batman.
The character’s main flaw lies in the fact Superman’s origins in the New Age Jewish community of the 1940s and 1950s. The story gives it a Jewish-American counterpart, but it doesn’t do more than say that his ancestry is Jewish from Germany and that he is Jewish from Central America. Superman has his own Jewish heritage, but he wasn’t allowed in his country so that would be an obvious reference. Superman has been portrayed as a hero by the mainstream media for at least 90 years, and the only explanation you can make for his Jewish ancestry is that when he was a kid the kids hated him or used to hate him. Superheroes always have very difficult times while playing heroes because they live lives of Jewish blood.
For the most part, Marvel Comics were the only white superhero company that was willing to do away with the stereotypes, so they were well-equipped to create characters in any style and would even use them occasionally. This allowed them to create more characters like Superman, who was less of a superhero than Batman, to make a movie while still being Jewish. If these were not the standards set by most of Marvel Comics, then it may be just plain as an outdated way of doing superhero movies. Because of how often white comic book heroes have portrayed Jewish characters, people will start to assume that these superhero characters are actually heroes. It is obvious that Jews are stereotyped and stereotyped from the very start, and we learn from the stories of various Native Americans and Arabs and Jews all over this country that they are human. They were only ever described as “man” or “Man from Jerusalem”,
What I found to be the most interesting through Brod’s thoughts was this idea of alter egos and classic evil Jewish characters. Both Superman and Batman were meek, �nobodies’ by day and superheroes by night. Both unwilling to reveal their superhero identities refusing the option of rejection and exploitation, is an additional alter ego that shows not physical weakness but mental weakness. To �hide’ behind a mask for fear of condemnation and disapproval is a classic example of the Jewish male. Creating strong, weak characters is seen to be an oxymoron but perhaps also an accurate explanation. This idea of two contradictory traits that composite into one person is what makes the idea so fantastic. It is what feeds the stereotype.
On a short tangent, in Milwaukee I made a quick stop at Target to pick up a few necessities and as I, unfortunately, waited in a very long register line, I over heard two young Jewish women heatedly consorting about marriage. Apparently to one of the woman’s’ mother, it was her obligation to marry a nice, key word, Jewish boy. Very sarcastically, the woman made it very clear that she didn’t want a, quote, вЂ?’skinny, little woman”. I was a bit shocked as the conversation dragged on about different Jewish men and how unappealing they are not only to non-Jews, but to Jewish women. To think that Jewish women are contributing to the stereotype, not only by their words, but by their actions as the Jewish mother. I was reminded of both, Yentl’s Revenge by D. Rustenburg and S. Heschel and You Never Call! You Never Write! ; A History of the Jewish Mother by Joyce Antler. Young Jewish looking for freedom and embracing feminism seems to make them a stronger gender. The stereotypical Jewish mother with her, “nagging, whining, guilt-producing maternal intrusiveness.” is a haunting stereotype that Jewish mothers are afraid to have labeled to them.
Again we consider the idea of fear within not only Jewish men but in combination with Jewish women. The fear of labels and rejection is a constant theme in Jewish stereotypes. Are women compensating for traits Jewish men lack or is this idea of male �timidness’ in effect to outspoken Jewish women? In relation to the Jewish women in the Ancient world this was not the case and no such extreme stereotypes yet existed. The thought of Jews among non-Jewish people usually are labeled in these two categories; the ancient world Jews and modern �minority’