ABSTRACT
Fascists regarded “the question of woman” as having an extended social meaning, pertinent to the relation between the classes, the élite and the mass. The revolt of the masses and the revolt of women were considered two sides of the same coin, and both called for a similar remedy: as long as the élite remained strong and masculine it could hope to keep the feminine masses under its sway; the fact that this was no longer the case in modernity was a symptom of the decay of strong leadership under weak liberalism and justified the renewal of virility provided by fascism. The discussion describes the way fascism codified its politics in gender terms, construing elitism as masculine and the mass—to be ruled, cajoled and intimated—as feminine. It is shown, additionally, how politics was invested with libidinal content, democracy seen as impotent, a sign of flawed masculinity, even homosexuality; authoritarian rule as sexually charged, based on vigorous virility. This generated contradictions with regards to fascist sexual ethics which was geared towards a conservative defense of the traditional family, on the one hand, and a celebration of sexual prowess, freed from stifling Judaeo-Christian moral inhibitions, on the other hand. The fascist attempt to underwrite traditional distinctions was also expressed in its often obsessive fear of the homosexual, the hybrid man, which was seen as a threat to the project of national and racial regeneration.
