Scrinbe-Summer2026

BOOKISH

Nebbishette: A Lost Sensibility Self-deprecating straight women were once a fixture of Jewish and mainstream culture. Where’d they go? by PHOEBE MALTZ BOVY

NEBBISH (NOUN, M.) Annie Hall premiered in 1977. Sever- al decades later, it’s easy to forget that it was revolutionary, at the time, for Woody Allen to be a leading man. The nebbish was a challenge to conventional masculinity. In- stead of a strong, silent type, you had these men whose lack of muscle tone they made up for in chattiness. You know the meme about how men would rather do anything

5786 ַקִיץ 41

ILLUSTRATION BY SALINI PERERA

Made with FlippingBook Digital Proposal Creator