Vegetarian Gender Roles

Now that a common conception of how food is gendered to either become masculine or feminine has been analyzed attention can be shifted to how the food gendering is challenged and what happens when we rebel against these foods regardless of their masculine or feminine association. The common correlation between meat and men is that it represents and signifies masculinity based on the amount of meat that is consumed associating with higher amounts of meat eating as “primitive” and “tough”, while lower amounts indicate little or if any masculinity (Rogers, 2008, pg.285). When we look at the diet of a vegetarian where meat is strictly eliminated and avoided due to either religious or personal purposes, is a male who identifies as a vegetarian automatically …show more content…
The public sphere consists of a set of regulations where docile bodies are produced and laws, either visible or invisible, control human behavior and actions. It is between these two spheres that the gender labelling of food can be challenged and possibly even eliminated. The private sphere consists of a certain set of regulations and choices that can provide an individual with enjoyment and satisfaction as governmental regulation and other forms of authority are not present. It is between these two spheres that the gender labelling of food can be challenged and possibly even eliminated. It is in the public sphere where an individual feels pressured to consume or purchase foods that are direct symbolic representations of the ideal man or woman that society has inadequately produced (Class Notes, 2016). The common activity of going out for dinner with a group of friends will be used to conceptualize and enrich the understanding of how food gendering is prominent and is not always self-enforced depending on the sphere that the individual is located in. When going out for dinner a woman may be tempted to order the ribs, but due to societies conceptions and the fear of not doing gender she may order a salad; a meal that is considered feminine. In the same scenario a man may wish to order spinach dip and quinoa, but however decides to purchase the burger with hopes that it would demonstrate …show more content…
This is because food is never just ‘something to eat’ (Nash & Phillipov, 2014, pg.205). Instead, it has now evolved to create symbolic references towards the construction of either men or women’s identity and how properly they relate to their gender based on the food items that they purchase and consume. Furthermore, and in conclusion, the societal production of food gendering raises several questions that are relatable to the way that gender is perceived and how food consumption patterns are produced. Masculinities and femininities are able to help us understand our current contemporary relationships to food and how they are produced through the media and reinforced through societal norms that implicate what foods are to be consumed or purchased in the public sphere. Food gendering also provides an integrated approach to understanding hat discourses of masculinity and femininity are attached to food and how these become negotiated throughout their daily lives. This was conceptualized through the idea of the private and public sphere where negotiations about whether or not to order foods that symbolize and relate to one’s gender due to fear of being discriminated against or judged. Finally, a feminist perspective on food, femininities, and