Jewish Social Studies

This article reexamines Daniel Boyarin's assertion regarding the masculinization of Jewish culture during the early stages of Zionism. Although it supports the claim that Zionists wished to create a more masculine Jew, it refutes Boyarin's argument about the queer or homosexual anxiety that accompanied the process. By looking at a variety of literary texts from the past century, the article shows how Hebrew authors were oblivious to the equation of Jewishness with homosexuality. In addition, it shows the endurance of the masculinization model in the way that contemporary gay literature in Israel has adopted it in reverse—by seeking to normalize Israeli gay men through masculine, military associations.