The New Fascist Body

An analysis of fascism’s libidinous energy and its animus against bodies perceived as imperfect—both past and present.

The success of new far-right movements cannot be explained by fear or rage alone—the pleasures of aggression and violence are just as essential. As such, racism is particularly intense when it is erotically charged, with migration presented as a sexual threat to white women being one of many examples. Germany’s strikingly successful right-wing political party Alternative für Deutschland is, according to the historian Dagmar Herzog, characterized by this “sexy racism,” with its second main feature being that of an obsessive antidisability hostility—both elements resonating strongly with Nazism. In The New Fascist Body, Herzog connects her analysis of fascism’s libidinous energy with its animus against bodies perceived as imperfect. Only by studying the emotional and intellectual worlds of past fascisms can we understand and combat their current manifestations.

The book features an afterword by Alberto Toscano, author of Late Fascism: Race, Capitalism and the Politics of Crisis (2023).