A Writer's Notebook, Day One-Thousand-Two-Hundred-And-Eighty-Nine

I'm beginning to crack a central issue I've been having with the essay that I am working on, or at least am moving towards having a real idea of how to break it down, I think.  It is one particularly thorny topic that is also central, but which is difficult to discuss without it coming out wrong.  To explain, it has to do with the way that two different marginalized identities were conflated to degrade both, and explaining that without seeming to be demeaning to either side is a bit tricky.  In specific, it has to do with sexualized images in anti-Semitism and how these correlate with moral notions that demonized certain forms of sexual expression, in particular homosexual identities and acts.  There are several pieces that specifically describe the story of a Jewish man crashing a dinner party and "corrupting" those in attendance by engaging both the men and woman in anal sex.  This is a plot that is seen in more than one work, as I understand it, and reflects a larger set of unfortunate tropes.  I tend to think, if I am honest, that this may well have been a case where the sexual acts were connected to Judaism to defame them initially, as it is clear that homosexuality was viewed quite differently in times when anti-Jewish sentiment was already common.  I have no real research on this, it is purely conjecture, to be honest, but I do wonder if the early Church, in efforts to turn the populace against various identities, particularly sexual ones, might have connected these things with Jewishness.  I know that the church, at least in the middle ages, did have those who spoke openly of Jewish sexuality as a danger, though the specific examples were less to do with homosexuality than with accusations of taking advantage of and being a corrupting influence upon good women.  It may be I can do a bit more research into the question, but that aspect really isn't the most relevant for what I am writing about.  I am more afraid that, because I am writing this largely from my perspective as a person who is Jewish, and also a cisgender, heterosexual man, am not ascribing to a notion that any of the things described should be insults.  I don't think that, and am reflecting this as historical fact.  I do think it is important to point out, as well, that their is a great deal of anti-Semitism today that is fed by forms of homophobia and, more recently, transphobia.  The notion that certain identities are being purposefully eroded, for example, is often mentioned by those pushing hateful agendas, the idea being that, for example, their is a conspiracy to propel girls to become transgender as a way of destabilizing society, or that a homosexual agenda exists to erode traditional family values.  These ideas are pushed all the time, one even hears, in more recent times, these blamed on "globalists," or "the new world order," both of which are well known anti-Semitic dog-whistles.  I have even heard a few people come even closer by specifically naming George Soros for funding such efforts.  I grew up, personally, in community with many people who were not straight.  My childhood home was down the street from the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village, and so, though I am not Queer myself, there is a connection within my personal history to Queer spaces and people that is important to me.  I believe, quite firmly in accepting people's identities.  I could lay out many arguments and reasons for my beliefs, but the truth is that most people who are not open to accepting LGBTQ+ identities only have reasons to excuse the beliefs they already hold.  This may be true, to be honest, for all of us, but the point remains, that I see little reason in arguing on that level.  I do recognize, though, as well, that as a person who is Jewish, there is a great deal of connection between anti-Semitism and anti-Queer sentiment, and it is something that draws me into a stronger sense of allegiance with that community.