Gender has always played a huge role across society and day to day decisions, and this is no different when dietary choices come into play. The idea that veganism correlates with femininity is something which has caused fractures in the communities of this dietary choice. Not only is this idea incorrect, but it feeds into the toxic portrayals of masculinity, which you can now see more debate surrounding this in society and social media.
When men decide to become vegan there are more social repercussions, as through beliefs taught by a patriarchal society, men are stereotyped as the stronger sex and choosing a diet which centres around the care for animals means showing emotions which have become branded as ‘feminine’. These capitalistic sexist ideas mean that for men to become vegan it is not only stopping consumption of animal products but also rejecting traditional gender norms that have been forced upon society for centuries.
Food is often painted politically due to society marginalising people based off thoughts constructed over time. This is not only seen with plant-based diets and gender, but also with drinking culture, with cocktails being viewed as feminine and beer being masculine, or in the coffee industry where milky coffees or flavoured drinks are seen as unsuitable for ‘real men’. The reasoning behind food being gendered and the presence of gender stereotyping within the food industry is a puzzle. As with all typecasting there is no true reason behind it other than it is the ideas society has been raised on, and ones that have lasted so long that to get rid of them is to abandon an inbuilt belief system.