In On Microfascism: Gender, War, and Death (Common Notions, 2022) Dr. Jack Z. Bratich explores the cultural elements in American society that support fascism. Microfascism appears in many aspects of culture engaging consumers to think of others and their own self in ways that extend fascism into everyday life while constantly adapting to cultural and political change. Beyond the cultural aspects of microfascism, Bratich also explores how it organizes seemingly unrelated groups who, at times, work together for specific actions aimed at furthering fascist political goals. By looking at the specifically gendered formations of microfascism, Bratich shows the misogyny at the core of the larger fascist project that is geared to “eliminate” those needed to fulfill the “restoration” of some past glory. On Microfascism combines insights from fascism studies and cultural studies scholarship with contemporary examples from current events and popular culture to show the microfascism embedded in American society, already primed for violence. But even though this microfascism can be found throughout American culture and politics, Brartich argues that it is fragile and can be countered with micro-antifascism. Due to the misogyny at the core of fascism and microfascism, political and cultural movements grounded in feminism are the places to most effectively perform micro-antifascism.

Jack Z. Bratich is a Professor of Journalism and Media Studies at Rutgers University.

You can find his work at Researchgate.

You can find a transcript of our conversation here.

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