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. Perceptions of masculinity and body image can play a role 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. The paper’s focus on the role that perceptions of masculinities and body image play in the appeal of far right clothing styles and symbols is situated within a broader literature tracing intersections between nationalism and masculinity. For example, 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. 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. 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. On the other hand, they may also reflect youth fantasies of a romantic, pure and untroubled past in ways that help them navigate uncertain labor markets and transitions to their adult lives.