Masculinity and the Body: Far Right Youth Culture in Germany

This paper combines the analysis of a digital archive of images of far right commercial products with interview data from 51 interviews with Germans vocational school students in 2013-14. In this paper, I analyze whether perceptions of masculinity and body image play in the appeal of far right wing clothing brands and styles—e.g., through catalogs and websites which depict broadly muscular, tattooed Viking warriors with inflated biceps and hyper-masculine bodies. Scholars have argued that images of men and women may become increasingly idealized and romanticized during stressful economic, political or social periods in the nation’s history (Kimmel 2005; Nagel 2005). I argue that fashion and style are deeply personal and intentional for young men; while research on young women has long discussed issues of body image, I show how young men’s clothing choices are also embedded in idealized notions of body image and traditional ideas about masculinity.  I suggest, moreover, that these idealized images of masculine bodies are potentially consequential for the appeal of far right youth culture.  On the one hand, for far right youth, hypermasculine symbols like Viking gods may tap into the pressure that adolescent males feel to conform to scripted ideals about appropriate masculine behavior and physique (Pascoe 2007; Way 2011).  On the other hand, they may also reflect youth fantasies of a romantic, pure and untroubled past (Claus et al 2010; Virchow 2010) in ways that help them navigate uncertain labor markets and transitions to their adult lives.