A Recipe for Heganism? Masculinity, Meat-Avoidance and the Cookbook
Bd.18,Nr.2(2021)
Media Representations and Narratives of Masculinities Across Europe
Veganism and plant-based diets have grown exponentially in popularity in the UK in recent years. Despite this overall growth in popularity, however, there remains a gender disparity amongst vegans, with men remaining under-represented amongst those identifying as vegan. The increased popularity of veganism and plant-based diets has both resulted in, and been boosted by, a recent surge in the number of vegan and plant-based cookbooks being published to the UK market. This article offers a qualitative textual analysis of three vegan and/or plant-based cookbooks by male authors published to the UK market in 2018. This analysis suggests new ways of thinking about the roles of food and diet in constructing and inscribing masculine identities, and the power that the vegan movement, in its broadest sense, has to either reify or challenge prescribed and restrictive masculinities as it seeks to promote veganism and plant-based diets.
veganism; masculinity; cookery; feminism; recipes; diet; plant-based
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