Negotiating Masculinity and Identity as a Jewish British Male

In this book, Dr. Anthony Nicholls uses a series of in-depth interviews toinvestigate how young Jews talk about their Jewishness, Britishness, andmasculinity. From his analysis, he argues that Jewishness is constructed betweenadherence to halachic requirement on one hand, and Jewishness experienced ascultural affinity to history, family, and tradition without recourse to halacha onthe other hand. He further argues that Britishness is experienced betweenvarying degrees of nationalistic localism against cosmopolitan liberalism playedout against a backdrop of Britain contrasted with the rest of the world, and alsoLondon against the rest of Britain. Nicholls rejects the view that masculinity isconstructed in the inherently unstable terms of physicality against intellectualism.Instead, he argues that it is better considered as lying in a range betweencompetitive hegemonic masculinity and a cooperative model with whichphysicality and intellectualism combine to produce a more stable and emotionallysatisfying mode of living.