Ashkenormativity

Ashkenormativity refers to a form of Eurocentrism within Ashkenazi Jewish culture that confers privilege on Ashkenazi Jews relative to Jews of Sephardi, Mizrahi, and other non-Ashkenazi backgrounds, as well as to the assumption that Ashkenazi culture is the default Jewish culture. Ashkenormativity often overlaps with white privilege, as many Ashkenazi Jews are white, but the terms are not synonymous as Ashkenazi Jews of color do not benefit from white privilege. The term is most commonly used in the United States, where the majority of Jews are Ashkenazi. Ashkenormativity is also alleged to exist in Israel, where Ashkenazi Jews experience cultural prominence despite no longer constituting a majority.[1][2][3]

Definition

The Newish Jewish Encyclopedia defines Ashkenormativity as the assumption that "Jewish life and culture is limited primarily to the experiences and customs of Ashkenazi Jews." The encyclopedia asserts that most American Jews, both Ashkenazi and non-Ashkenazi, have internalized Ashkenormative views due to the historical prominence of Ashkenazim within American Jewish life.[4]

The Oxford Handbook of Jewishness and Dance defines Ashkenormativity as "an Ashkenazi, or European Jewish, centricity in relation to dominant formulations of Jewish culture."[5]

The term was first used in print in 2016 by sociologist, Analucía Lopezrevoredo and political scientist, David Schraub, in their joint article "An Intersectional Failure: How Both Israel’s Backers and Critics Write Mizrahi Jews Out of the Story." [6]

Examples of Ashkenormativity

The Orientalist academic Norman Stillman has written about the "Ashkenazification" of Sephardi religious life in Israel.[7] Daniel J. Elazar has claimed that Ashkenazified Sephardi yeshivot in Israel emulate Eastern European Ashkenazi forms of Judaism at the expense of their own Sephardi heritage, with Sephardi rabbis experiencing pressure to adapt to Ashkenazi norms.[8]

Companies offering "ancestry reports" through genetic testing have been accused of Ashkenormativity, as many of these companies only provide reports on Ashkenazi Jews while excluding non-Ashkenazi Jews.[9]

The Jewish environmental advocacy organization Hazon, whose staff is predominantly Ashkenazi, has described terms such as "Jewish looking" or "a Jewish dance" as "Yiddish-centric/Ashkenormative".[10]

Common stereotypes about Jews, such as having pale skin or wearing black hats, are actually stereotypes about Ashkenazi Jews specifically rather than Jews as a whole. These stereotypes apply to white Ashkenazim rather than Black, Sephardi, and Mizrahi Jews.[11] Another example of Ashkenormativity is assuming that iconic aspects of Ashkenazi culture, such the Yiddish language, media such as Fiddler on the Roof or Indecent, or staples of Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine such as bagels and gefilte fish, are representative of all Jews.[12]

Criticism

Given the dominant status of the Hebrew language within Israeli-Jewish culture and much of the Zionist movement, and the de-emphasizing of Yiddish culture, some critics have questioned the extent that Ashkenormativity exists, particularly within Israel.[13]

See also

References
  1. "Ashkenormativity in the Jewish Community". Sefaria. Retrieved 2021-11-24.
  2. "Frequently Asked Questions". Ammud.org. Retrieved 2021-11-24.
  3. "Beyond the Critical Framework of Ashkenormativity: Reimagining Jewish Solidarity and Klal Yisrael". Zaman Collective. Retrieved 2021-11-24.
  4. Butnick, Stephanie; Lebovitz, Liel; Oppenheimer, Mark (2019). The Newish Jewish Encyclopedia: From Abraham to Zabar's and Everything in Between. Artisan Books. p. 20. ISBN 9781579658939.
  5. Jackson, Naomi M.; Pappas, Rebecca; Shapiro-Phim, Toni (2021). The Oxford Handbook of Jewishness and Dance. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press. p. 700. ISBN 9780197519523.
  6. "An Intersectional Failure: How Both Israel's Backers and Critics Write Mizrahi Jews Out of the Story". Tablet. Retrieved 2016-01-25.
  7. Stillman, Norman A. (1995). Sephardi Religious Responses to Modernity (The Sherman Lecture Series , Vol 1). Milton Park: Harwood Academic Publishers. p. 76, 84. ISBN 9783718656998.
  8. "Can Sephardic Judaism be Reconstructed?". Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs. Retrieved 2021-11-26.
  9. "Jewish Racialization, the "Jewish Gene," and the Perpetuation of Ashkenormativity in Dir enormativity in Direct-to-Consumer Genetic Ancestr o-Consumer Genetic Ancestry Testing in the United States". Georgia State University. Retrieved 2021-11-24.
  10. "Equity and Justice Statement". Hazon. Retrieved 2021-11-24.
  11. "Mizrahi Students Talk: Are Campus Communities Ashkenormative?". New Voices. Retrieved 2021-11-24.
  12. "Black and Jewish Speakers Discuss Race with B'nai Israel". Baltimore Jewish Times. Retrieved 2021-11-24.
  13. "Ashkenormativity? What about Israel-Centrism?". The Forward. Retrieved 2021-11-24.
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