Queering Philip Roth: homosocial discourse in 'An actor’s life for me', 'Letting go', 'Sabbath’s theater' and the 'American trilogy'

Much has been written on Roth’s representation of masculinity, but this critical discourse has tended to be situated within a heteronormative frame of reference, perhaps because of Roth’s popular reputation as an aggressively heterosexual, libidinous, masculinist, in some versions sexist or even misogynist author. In this essay I argue that Roth’s representation of male sexuality is more complex, ambiguous, and ambivalent than has been generally recognized. Tracing a strong thread of what I call homosocial discourse running through Roth’s oeuvre, I suggest that the series of intimate relationships with other men that many of Roth’s protagonists form are conspicuously couched in this discourse and that a recognition of this ought to reconfigure our sense of the sexual politics of Roth’s career, demonstrating in particular that masculinity in his work is too fluid and dynamic to be accommodated by the conventional binaries of heterosexual and homosexual, feminized Jew and hyper-masculine Gentile, the “ordinary sexual man” and the transgressively desiring male subject.

Philip B. Mishoe Diaries - Accession 267 - M112 (144)

The Philip B. Mishoe Diaries collection consists of photocopies of two diaries kept by Mr. Mishoe when he served as a seaman during World War II, first aboard the USS New York during North Atlantic Convoy duty and secondly, during Operation Torch, North Africa campaign.

Hartvig Philip Rée og hans Slaegt

udg. paa Foranledning af Eduard Rée ved Josef Fischer

Dr. Samson Philip Nathan : ein Lebens- u. Charakterbild

von Salomon Goldschmidt

Philip Schey [von] Koromla [Illustration] : 1798 - 1881

Scan von Monochrom-Mikroform

John Philip Sousa, Brustbild

Signatur des Originals: S 36/F06635