Last week we introduced you to the gastrosexual, a macho man who enjoys spending time in the kitchen, and today I bring you the predicament of the male vegetarian. While masculinity is often associated with meat-eating, a recent Guardian article by vegetarian Barbara Ellen argues that being a male vegetarian requires more manliness than being a carnivore:
In this hostile, ultra-macho, morally arid climate, to stand up and be counted as a male vegetarian must require cojones of immense size, much bigger balls, in fact, than your average carnivorous wimp, who just goes along with the crowd. So pity him no longer, for it could be that the male vegetarian is suddenly looking kind of sexy again.
I think she makes a good point and it's interesting to note that a man's masculinity goes hand in hand with his eating habits. What do you think about the topic? Are male vegetarians more or less macho than their meat-eating counterparts?
Mulberry
All Saints
Beach Time
i'm a veggie and i'm female so i can understand how the perception seems to skew more female - but i don't know if it would be any 'less manly' for a guy to not eat meat. i think that it's an accepted that men are meat eaters - my fiance is a texas born steak man - and that's ok with me as long as he keeps it away from me. i don't think that i would characterize him any less macho if he didn't eat meat...
1I don't think it makes a difference. I understand the impression of "I am man, I eat meat", but someone who stands up agains the norm has always been sexy to me.
2The article sounds like a filler piece, lots of fluff with no substance.
Now the thing about male vegetarians that might make them "less masculine" or less sexy to me personally is if they're really slim with no muscle, but obviously that's an extreme stereotype of vegetarians.
3So eating the carcass of a dead animal is manly? maybe in barbaric ages! I don't need my man to prove his masculinity by eating meat. If he wants to, fine, if not, it doesn't make me waiver on believing he can offer protection just the same lol.
4This is pretty silly. I wouldn't judge a guy's masculinity by whether he eats meat.
With that being said, I personally am too much of a meat-eater to make things work with a vegetarian, probably.
5I think having eating restrictions, either by choice or health, can come across as fussy or demanding in social situations, which I can see as diminishing sex appeal (both male and female). For the record, I'm a female veggie, and I definitely feel fussy sometimes (questioning a waiter about ingredients, having to bring my own stuff to a BBQ for the grill).
6I have to be honest and say that I wouldnt date a man who was a vegetarian, because so much of my life revolves around being a carnivore , I dont however think them "unmanly", although my father would deem them so.
7I do not know any male vegetarians. Are not all of them female?
8I dated a vegan a few years ago, and apart from being a little on the slender side he was all man!, with nothing feminine about him.He played in a rock band, had tatoos, and was more masculine then a lot of guys I know that eat meat! Your lifestyle choices don't nessecarily influence how masculine or feminine you are...that's a ludicrous way to think about people.
9I know a few and the one that stands out that is a major wuss, would be that way whether or not he ate meat. I don't think it has anything to do with his eating habits, it's just him.
10I think vegetarian dudes are way sexy. It's a huge, huge plus in my book if a man doesn't eat meat. But then again, I'm a vegetarian.
11Vegetarians, male and female, often experience vitamin deficiencies in:
* Vitamin B12
* Vitamin D
* Riboflavin
* Zinc
* Iron
* Protein
This can make men skinny and weak. It can also make hair and skin lack luster.
On the upside, guys who don't eat meat don't have meat farts and, I think, are typically a little more thoughtful about life in general.
12Um Yak, have you ever been around a vegetarian? their gaseous emissions could make bigfoot faint.
13I've been a vegetarian for 10 years and although my husband isn't it doesn't make me think of him as "manly" beucase he eats meat. Personally, I would rather him not but it's his choice
14Yak, I think the only problem most people encounter is low B12, for which most vegetarians I know take supplements. That's a lot better than being obese, having heart problems, acne, and nasty tasting cum like meat eating men.
My husband is vegetarian and you should see the wimpy, little-weenie "manly men" who try to imply that he's not masculine for actually caring about animals, his health, and the environment. He's the hunkiest sailor I know!
People are so afraid of vegetarianism that they revert to calling the men scrawny, girly, etc. It's pathetic, but what else do you expect when no one has any LOGICAL arguments against vegetarianism?
15I know a male vegetarian, and I don't think he's sexy. But that's not because he's a vegetarian.
I don't believe that how sexy you are should be determined by what you eat.
16There is nothing hotter than a man who thinks for himself and is confident enough to live by his own standards. In addition to that vegans are, on average, more fit than non-vegans, are less likely to develop diabetes and other diet-related illnesses, and smell better, which translates to: AMAZING in the bedroom. What's sexier than that?
The 'unmanly vegetarian' stereotype is so passe. Just ask Mac Danzig or Prince Fielder.
Remember when it was cool to smoke? We'll say that about eating animals one day.
Check out www.chooseveg.com and see for yourself.
17UNmanly
18smoking and eating animals are the same thing?
This is why vegetarians get a bad rep.
19Well they both hurt yourself and others... so yeah. I'd say they're comparable. Your turn... how are they so different?
20I agree w/ foxie. If you eat smart as a vegetarian, you will not have any vitamin deficiencies. Vitamins and supplements can make up for any problems. Heart disease, obesity, high cholesterol...etc...are all part of a meat-eating diet."Nothing will benefit human health and increase chances of survival for life on earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet." -Albert Einstein. My husband is a vegetarian, by the way, and he can kick ass!
21I seriously don't get the connection. It's like saying that gay pastry chefs are better than heterosexal ones. It's ridiculous.
22I think a man who is smart enough to think for himself and has good reasons for being a vegetarian is hot. Therefore a guy who is a vegetarian for no good reason (e.g. to fit into his peer group) is not hot. I also think a guy who does the veg thing right is also hot. Not guys that aren't getting the complete amino acid and screwing themselves up. That is whack.
23wierd
24I think vegetarians are hot (although I don't hate non-vegetarians just don't flaunt your meat loving ways, I find that to be cruel.) Most of my diet is vegetarian although I do not follow all rules; the main thing is I do not eat red meat, pork and I do not drink most milk (the only time I do drink any type of milk is in a latte which I have maybe 3x's a year.)
25I dated a vegetarian once and he didn't tell me until the 5th date...
He kept ordering PASTA and I finally said something. (Why all the pasta?)
I would have respected him a lot more if he had just been upfront about it.
26I like to eat meat and my family loves to eat meat. Plus I'm from Texas and real men there eat meat. I've dated a vegetarian and it was kind of a hassle. I feel weird eating a steak when my man orders soup and a salad.
27SEXY!!!
by the way yaksmilk.. where did you get this:
Vegetarians, male and female, often experience vitamin deficiencies in:
* Vitamin B12
* Vitamin D
* Riboflavin
* Zinc
* Iron
* Protein
??!?? its rather inaccurate to state this.
as a vegan for 15 years, i LOVE when meat eaters try and quiz me about where all my vitamins come from... many vegetarians & vegans spend more time researching their diets than those who eat what American society deems "healthy" and "normal"
28I don't think it really makes a difference
29I will say this though. I have never seen an overweight vegetarian. Just saying!
30I know an equal number of male and female vegetarians, and I've never seen anyone question someone's masculinity or femininity based on their dietary choices.
Maybe its odd for men to be vegetarians in America, but in Buddhist countries and in some parts of India, its extremely common for men to be vegetarian, and no one questions their masculinity because of it there.
31Show me a man that won't eat meat and I'll show you a wuss.
Not only that, but a diet deficient in animal protein makes these wussies all snotty and prone to hissy-fits. As you know, when we do not eat meat, our bodies go into hunt/kill/aggression mode. Lack of meat makes people downright EVIL!
http://www.VegetariansAreEvil.com - see for yourself!
We are carnivores, with the teeth of a carnivore and the digestive system of one. Our digestive system produces pepsin, which breaks down the proteins in meat. We do not produce anywhere near enough enzymes to effectively deal with a diet made up exclusively of plant cellulose.
People make the decision to become vegetarian because of some 'ethical concerns' or some other such utter nonsense, and not because there is anything healthy about removing nice healthy meat from your diet.
Our digestive system cannot effectively deal with large amounts of plant matter, and thus vegetarians and vegans are constantly passing gas and constantly hungry. We do not have the multiple fermentation stomachs of a cow nor the extensive digestive tract of the vegetarian gorilla.
The worst wusses of all are the 'vegetarians' who eat fish. It seems that these folks do not understand that fish are not vegetables, but are - in fact - animals that live in the water.
Show me a vegetarian and I'll show you a girly-man.
32Actually, we're omnivores.
33Ut oh, did someone let you out of the "Deliverance" prop house?
34mata- Everything that you just said is incorrect. Hmm, do I smell a troll?
35Any man who's not judgmental, who's open-minded (sticking to the topic: open-minded about other people's diet), and has a great heart.. now that's macho.
36Meat farts!! (giggle giggle giggle!)
37geez mata- way to do some REAL research there....nothing worse that an evil vegetarian on a rampage (please note the sarcasm)
i will spare everyone the facts about how our bodies work and that there is nothing abnormal about a vegetarian human.
let me just say this--- mata, if you are a carnivore with the "body of a carnivore" than i take it you leave your home each day, track down an animal with your keen sense of smell, stalk it, pounce it, and kill it with your carnivorous teeth and claws.
thats what i thought. (i bet you use "non wussy man" things like guns or better yet, shopping carts)
38My husband is a vegetarian, and I think it's hot that he cares about animals and ending factory farming. He's also not obsessed with proving his masculinity because he doesn't have anything to worry about in any of those departments. Men who feel the need to break down male vegetarians are really just shouting that they have tiny penises.
39This is a very interesting topic. I've been a vegetarian for about 18 years now. I was brought up on a farm and could just about take (and have just about taken) most animals from the field to the freezer. As a child this seemed natural to kill animals and eat them but as I grew older I realised that I did not have to cause suffering to other creatures to satisfy my hunger. As far as manly goes, I ride a motorbike, drive a 1969 landrover ragtop (maintained by myself) have a tattoo, am a builder, have three children and have a healthy relationship with my wife. I climb, run, wild camp (eating off the land) and am generally too alpha male for most meat eaters. My life choices mean that I spend a lot of time around meat heads and have to explain on a regular basis why I don't eat meat. I do this simply and without preaching or patronising. Generally speaking, most blokes eat meat cause they like it and don't see why they shouldn't. At this point I think the discussion moves towards a lack of intelligence and selfishness rather than machoism.
40People who think that vegetarians emit more gas are very, very wrong.
41When I used to eat meat, I suffered from horrible gas, and never knew why I was having problems until not too long ago when I read about irritable bowel syndrome and figured that this is what caused my embarrassment. This is exactly what I was suffering from when I was eating meat.I stopped the meat about 20 years ago, I never suffered from IBS since. I can't stand the smell of people who eat meat, they have an awful smell about them. I want to just faint.
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