I'm not sure what I expected from a book that seriously uses words like 'phallus' and 'emasculated'

[tiger_moran]

I'm reading bits of Masculinity, Crime and Self-defence in Victorian Literature and

"In his examination of the Sherlock Holmes stories, Joseph Kestner tells us that ‘it is crucial to recognize that Watson returns from the Afghanistan campaign with a wounded body, a body therefore not capable of sustaining the penis/phallus equation of dominant masculinity’."

Ah yes, crucial. Right.

"The murder of Ronald Adair echoes the horrific Whitechapel killings, which were perpetrated in silence by a murderer who escaped detection and whose modus operandi was hotly disputed."

What
 

"The dum-dum shot is not only a ghastly injury but also constitutes a ripping open of the body, an attack on masculine corporeal integrity."

What
 

"Furthermore, as Wynne points out, Moriarty’s name is Irish and his network is modelled on Fenianism."

What

(No, I... really don't think it is)