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dashadashahi's review
5.0
This book, while long, provides a new perspective on how ethno-religious groups constructed gender norms, particularly in relation to dominant cultures. While certainly more context for Freud and Herzl, especially on the broader culture of which they lived in, may have been helpful for readers the book does an excellent job showing how Judaism contracted its own idealized male that opposed western gender norms, only to assimilate that male into western culture in the nineteenth century. His writing is easy to read despite the complexity of his arguments. Writing on Freud and Herzl’s hope for Zionism to represent a fulfilment of assimilation he states, “It was a return to Phallustine, not to Palestine” is both witty and poignant and demonstrates Boyarin’s unique way of writing (p. 222).
I enjoyed Boyarin’s section on women’s subordination under Judaism through their exclusion from Talmudic studies, which mirrored how Christianity subordinated women through their economic isolation in the domestic sphere. Boyarin does an excellent job demonstrating how the patriarchy developed within Rabbinic Judaism was not necessarily beneficial to women, despite appearing to be a “gentler” patriarchy. As well, Boyarin’s analysis of Freudian theory was intriguing. However, one can only read so many paragraphs analyzing Freud’s “anal fertility” before they forget how this relates to the construction of the “New Jewish man” (p. 203-205).
I enjoyed Boyarin’s section on women’s subordination under Judaism through their exclusion from Talmudic studies, which mirrored how Christianity subordinated women through their economic isolation in the domestic sphere. Boyarin does an excellent job demonstrating how the patriarchy developed within Rabbinic Judaism was not necessarily beneficial to women, despite appearing to be a “gentler” patriarchy. As well, Boyarin’s analysis of Freudian theory was intriguing. However, one can only read so many paragraphs analyzing Freud’s “anal fertility” before they forget how this relates to the construction of the “New Jewish man” (p. 203-205).
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