Political Masculinity

»We must re-discover our masculinity,« is the appeal to German men by Björn Höcke, probably Germany’s most famous right-wing politician. With this demand, the AfD politician is not alone: From New Zealand to Canada, from Brazil to Poland, right-wing populists, so-called »Incels«, but also Christian pro-life activists are connecting with one another under the banner of masculinity to push women back to a subordinate place in an allegedly natural hierarchy.

Susanne Kaiser offers a compact overview of the history and the programme of this movement. She analyses discussions in the »manosphere«, highlights international connections and asks why right-wing mobilisation deploys the topics of Gender Studies, LGBT rights and gender roles.

»Political Masculinity is an intelligent and urgently needed book on the global rise of misogyny, anti-feminism and toxic masculinity. Kaiser powerfully shows how male supremacists, right-wing populists and religious fundamentalists are tied together. From Trump to the incel movement, her book offers a thrilling and accessible deep dive into the masculinity struggles we read about in the headlines on a quasi-daily basis.« Julia Ebner, author of Going Dark: The Secret Social Lives of Extremists

»We are witnessing a new conjuncture of political masculinity – aggressive, toxic and misogynistic. The book provides knowledgeable insights into global masculinist spaces, as well as processes of mobilizing masculinism. For those interested in gender, politics and de-democratization, a must!« Birgit Sauer, University of Vienna

»Kaiser examines how misogynist networks rely on verbal and real violence in a meritorious essay.« Jörg Thomann, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung

»... an analysis of the present that is as important as it is convincing.« Kevin Neuroth, der Freitag

»... important efforts to throw light on the subject of Incels.« Lars Fleischmann, neues deutschland

»The very informative book makes a strong case for taking hypocritical claims to dominance based on ›masculinity‹ much more seriously than before.« Sabine Rohlf, Berliner Zeitung

»definitely a worthwhile read« MDR