Vertigo - The Rise and Fall of Weimar Germany. Chapter 9: Between Woman and Man, Gender Doubts

第九章“女人与男人之间：性别疑虑”探讨了魏玛共和国（1919-1933）时期德国性别角色、外貌和身份发生的剧烈转变。那个时代以社会和政治动荡、经济不稳定以及蓬勃发展的现代感为特征，这些深刻地影响了传统的男性和女性观念。 本章首先强调，许多同时代观察家认为，女性地位的改变甚至比第一次世界大战更具破坏性。女性经历了显著的转变，这不仅体现在时尚上，也体现在她们的行为、言语和思想上。束腰和受约束的身材被拥有更自由、更健美的身体和更短发型的女性所取代。这种被称为“半男孩”的审美象征着传统性别界限的模糊。 另一方面，男性似乎难以适应这种变化的环境。虽然有些人以窥视的狂热欢迎女性角色的改变，但另一些人，特别是保守派，则认为失去传统的女性服装和行为是一种不稳定的力量。与此同时，男性身体的理想也在演变，倾向于纤细、健美的体格，而不是过去更为强壮的体格。胡须变得不再流行，男性美容产品大量涌现。 雌雄同体的兴起成为魏玛时代的一个突出特征。“性别之间的地带”曾经只属于亚文化，现在在公共生活中变得越来越明显，其中居住着那些故意挑战传统性别规范的个体。服装和发型，特别是“波波头”和“伊顿短发”，成为这种转变的政治化象征。波波头最初被视为一个笑话，但被许多女性接受，作为个性、自我赋权和智力自由的标志。相反，它被右翼团体谴责为犹太或不道德的时尚。 本章强调，性别角色的变化不仅仅局限于表面的时尚潮流。女性以更大的数量进入劳动力市场，追求高等教育，并要求在个人生活中拥有更大的自主权。这种新获得的独立性，既得益于经济的需要，也得益于社会态度的转变，挑战了将女性主要视为妻子和母亲的传统期望。拼凑式自传的概念，即个人改变职业和关系，变得更加普遍，从而实现了更多的自我实现。 然而，这些变化也引发了焦虑和不安，尤其是在男性中。本章列举了一些男性作家，他们表达了对强大、不可预测的女性的恐惧，将她们描绘成使男性丧失男子气概的怪物形象。右翼思想家将魏玛共和国本身视为“女性化”，并试图恢复传统的性别角色，经常将共和国与软弱和军事失败联系起来。 尽管存在这些焦虑，本章强调了日常生活中男性和女性之间日益密切的关系。他们比以往任何时候都更自由地一起工作、一起学习和一起社交。这导致了两性关系中出现了一种新的“冷静”，一种对友谊和相互尊重的关注，而不是纯粹的浪漫或性追求。 最后，本章探讨了通过摄影对魏玛社会的视觉表现。虽然时尚杂志经常描绘理想化的青春和美丽形象，但像奥古斯特·桑德这样的纪实摄影师试图捕捉德国人口的多样性和现实。桑德的肖像，以广泛的社会阶层和职业为特色，揭示了传统的持续存在以及对现代性的拥抱。本章最后指出，魏玛共和国在其极端和矛盾之处，与当今关于性别、身份和社会变革的辩论仍然具有非凡的关联性。

Chapter 9, "Between Woman and Man: Gender Doubts," examines the radical shifts in gender roles, appearances, and identities that occurred in Germany during the Weimar Republic (1919-1933). The era was characterized by social and political upheaval, economic instability, and a burgeoning sense of modernity, which profoundly impacted traditional notions of masculinity and femininity. The chapter begins by highlighting the perception of many contemporary observers that the changing status of women was more disruptive than even World War I. Women underwent a visible transformation, reflected not only in fashion but also in their behavior, speech, and thought. Corseted and constrained figures were replaced by women with freer, more athletic bodies and shorter hairstyles. This "half-boy" aesthetic, as it was termed, symbolized a blurring of traditional gender lines. Men, on the other hand, seemed to struggle to adapt to this shifting landscape. While some welcomed the changing roles of women with voyeuristic enthusiasm, others, particularly conservatives, viewed the loss of traditional feminine attire and behaviors as a destabilizing force. Simultaneously, the ideal of the male body also evolved, favoring slender, athletic physiques over the more robust forms of the past. Beards became unfashionable, and grooming products for men proliferated. The rise of androgyny became a prominent feature of the Weimar era. The "zone between the sexes," once relegated to subcultures, became increasingly visible in public life, populated by individuals who deliberately challenged traditional gender norms. Clothing and hairstyles, particularly the "bob" and the "Eton cut," became politicized symbols of this shift. The bob, initially seen as a joke, was embraced by many women as a sign of individuality, self-empowerment, and intellectual freedom. Conversely, it was condemned by right-wing groups as a Jewish or immoral fashion. The chapter emphasizes that changes in gender roles extended beyond superficial fashion trends. Women entered the workforce in greater numbers, pursued higher education, and demanded greater autonomy in their personal lives. This newfound independence, facilitated by both economic necessity and shifting social attitudes, challenged traditional expectations of women as primarily wives and mothers. The idea of patchwork biographies, where individuals changed careers and relationships, became more common, allowing for more self-realization. However, these changes also sparked anxieties and insecurities, particularly among men. The chapter presents examples of male authors who expressed fears of powerful, unpredictable women, portraying them as monstrous figures who emasculated men. Right-wing thinkers viewed the Weimar Republic itself as "effeminate" and sought to restore traditional gender roles, often associating the Republic with weakness and military defeat. Despite these anxieties, the chapter highlights the increasing closeness between men and women in everyday life. They worked together, studied together, and socialized together more freely than in the past. This led to a new "sobriety" in relations between the sexes, a focus on companionship and mutual respect rather than purely romantic or sexual pursuits. Finally, the chapter explores the visual representation of Weimar society through photography. While fashion magazines often portrayed idealized images of youth and beauty, documentary photographers like August Zunder sought to capture the diversity and reality of the German population. Zunder's portraits, featuring a wide range of social classes and professions, revealed the persistence of tradition alongside the embrace of modernity. The chapter concludes by noting that the Weimar Republic, in its extremes and contradictions, remains remarkably relevant to contemporary debates about gender, identity, and social change.