The Fascist State of Mind and the Manufacturing of Masculinity

A psychoanalytic approach

Christina Wieland

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2014
• Print ISBN: 9780415526456
• eBook ISBN: 9781317684138
• Topic: Politics & International Relations
• Subtopic: Fascism & Totalitarianism
• Index: Politics & International Relations

The Fascist State of Mind and the Manufacturing of Masculinity: A psychoanalytic approach attempts to describe in psychoanalytic terms the psychological consequences of massive social trauma and national humiliation, and the regression that takes place within the individual under these circumstances. The book is not about understanding fascism as a historical, political or sociological phenomenon, but about understanding the special relationship between masculinity and fascism and the state of mind which both shaped, and was shaped by, the historical phenomenon of fascism.

Christina Wieland explores fascism as a product of certain forms of masculinity and focuses on the dynamics of masculinity as a mode of psychic functioning. She examines in detail masculine anxieties and defences and their interaction with stresses of modernity and with the social and political unrest that followed World War One.

The Fascist State of Mind and the Manufacturing of Masculinity is divided into four parts:

Part One – The meaning of fascism and the fascist state of mind – theories and definitions

Part Two – Masculinity, its meaning and its vulnerability

Part Three – Group and group theory, and the total environment

Part Four – Exploring the links between masculinity, groups and fascism

The Fascist State of Mind and the Manufacturing of Masculinity uses clinical material, literary texts, and extensive psychoanalytic interpretation of some passages from Mein Kampf to illustrate the interplay of the psychological processes with social and political events. This book will appeal to psychoanalysts and psychoanalytic psychotherapists, teachers and students of psychoanalysis and gender studies. It will also appeal to those interested in the application of psychoanalytic insights in the understanding of social and political phenomena.

‘This is a hugely interesting and provocative book that draws effectively on biographical, historical and clinical sources to make a convincing case on the intricate relationship between fascism and masculinity. Building on her previous work on masculinity and on her knowledge of psychopathology from her clinical work, Christina Wieland shows how the fascist state of mind exemplifies a particular solution to the male struggle to avoid being overwhelmed by a phantastic maternal presence that threatens masculinity in times of personal and societal trauma. Hitler’s personality and writings are used as examples of this state of mind in an attempt to understand why Hitler was the person in the right place at the right time, how he was just the sufficient mixture of charisma and craziness to overthrow common sense and tip a nation into societal and genocidal madness.’ – Bob Hinshelwood, Professor in the Centre for Psychoanalytic Studies, University of Essex

‘This is a valuable exploration of the madness at the heart of fascism. It employs psychoanalytic theory to generate new insights into the states of mind underlying totalitarian violence. It shows how a desperate pseudo-masculinity uses hatred and murder to stave off the collapse of selfhood, and adds to the foundations for a psychosocial understanding of contemporary extremisms.’ – Barry Richards, Professor of Public Communication, The Media School, Bournemouth University

‘Dr Wieland has proposed a wholly new understanding of the fascist mind, by posing the problem of what made a fascist group, with its combination of merging into nationalism, normally thought of as feminine, and heroic militarism, normally thought of as masculine. Together, they fed an illusion of rebirth through war as a rebirth of masculinity from a masculine womb. The psychoanalytic study of fascism, which goes back to the fascist period, enters a new stage with her book.’ – Karl Figlio, Professor in the Centre for Psychoanalytic Studies, University of Essex, and a Senior Member of the British Psychotherapy Foundation

The Fascist State of Mind and the Manufacturing of Masculinity

The Fascist State of Mind and the Manufacturing of Masculinity: A psychoanalytic approach attempts to describe in psychoanalytic terms the psychological consequences of massive social trauma and national humiliation, and the regression that takes place within the individual under these circumstances. The book is not about understanding fascism as a historical, political or sociological phenomenon, but about understanding the special relationship between masculinity and fascism and the state of mind which both shaped, and was shaped by, the historical phenomenon of fascism.

Christina Wieland explores fascism as a product of certain forms of masculinity and focuses on the dynamics of masculinity as a mode of psychic functioning. She examines in detail masculine anxieties and defences and their interaction with the stresses of modernity and with the social and political unrest that followed the First World War.

The Fascist State of Mind and the Manufacturing of Masculinity is divided into four parts:

Part I – The meaning of fascism and the fascist state of mind – theories and definitions

Part II – Masculinity, its meaning and its vulnerability

Part III – Group and group theory, and the total environment

Part IV – Exploring the links between masculinity, groups and fascism

The Fascist State of Mind and the Manufacturing of Masculinity uses clinical material, literary texts, and extensive psychoanalytic interpretation of some passages from Mein Kampf to illustrate the interplay of the psychological processes with social and political events. This book will appeal to psychoanalysts and psychoanalytic psychotherapists, teachers and students of psychoanalysis and gender studies. It will also appeal to those interested in the application of psychoanalytic insights in the understanding of social and political phenomena.

Christina Wieland is a psychoanalytic psychotherapist in private practice, a training therapist, teacher and supervisor. She is a visiting Fellow and teaches at the Centre for Psychoanalytic Studies at the University of Essex.

The Fascist State of Mind and the Manufacturing of Masculinity

A psychoanalytic approach

Christina Wieland

First published 2015

by Routledge

27 Church Road, Hove, East Sussex BN3 2FA

and by Routledge

605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017

Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business

© 2015 Christina Wieland

The right of Christina Wieland to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

Wieland, Christina.

The fascist state of mind and the manufacturing of masculinity: a psychoanalytic approach / Christina Wieland.—First Edition.

pages cm

1. Masculinity. 2. Gender identity. I. Title.

BF175.5.M37W54 2014

155.3’32—dc23

2014009248

ISBN: 978-0-415-52645-6 (hbk)

ISBN: 978-0-415-52646-3 (pbk)

ISBN: 978-1-315-77434-3 (ebk)

DOI: 10.4324/9781315774343

Typeset in Times

by Book Now Ltd, London

To Volker and Stefan

Contents

• Acknowledgements
• Introduction
• PART I The fascist state of mind
  • 1 What is the fascist state of mind?
    • Views of historians and social scientists
    • Totalitarianism
    • Hannah Arendt’s theory of totalitarianism
    • The fascist state of mind: early psychoanalytic views
    • The fascist state of mind: contemporary views
    • Janine Chasseguet-Smirgel’s theory of utopia and totalitarianism
    • Fascism as a group phenomenon
    • Conclusion
    • Notes
• PART II Masculinity and its discontents
  • 2 Masculinity and violence
    • The masculine dilemma
    • Oedipus and the Sphinx: masculinity and the retreat from the Oedipus complex
    • Clinical example
    • Discussion
    ...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Frontmatter 1
• Half Title Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Table of Contents
• Acknowledgements
• Introduction
• PART I The fascist state of mind
• PART II Masculinity and its discontents
• PART III Groups, fascism and masculinity
• PART IV Masculinity and fascism
• References
• Index