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Is being a Vegan... a feminine thing?!
Started
by Dorian Gray
on December 29, 2009
I am not here long enough for accurate stats but it seems that we are all women (Jason, not you!).
Any explanation?
Is it out "motherness"?
Do we have more compassion?
Do we just like to connect and talk about "things" more than men?
What do you think?
LOL. I think for those of us who are female that we just like to TALK about these things much more. And we are OK with asking for advice. I do think it is a very sexy thing for a man to want to take care of himself and his body. My opinion.
In a way, I think its evolution. I mean, think about it...historically men were hunter, women were gatherers....we stayed close to home, tended the kids, and gathered fruits, nuts, and veggies...men hunted.
Not saying that there's nothing else going on, or that evolution can't be be overcome, but I do think that's part of it.
Also, women are usually more concerned about health...the health of others, and ourselves....so it seems natural that women would make this step first, and then bring the rest of the family along.
Of course there are many men that are vegan, but not part of this site. It could be that there are just more women on this site because of the nature of the book.
Here is what I think:
for some reason women ARE more likely to talk about things and share recipes. I can talk about veggies for a while with my girls. But I'm pretty sure my husband wouldn't be as enthusiastic about it. I don' know. Just like when we find a great bargain... we share it. Most men just don't seem to be that into it. It funny. I never really thought about it before :)
i think a huge part of it is that society has brainwashed men into thinking that killing and eating meat is a man-thing (thanks a lot, hardees commercials), along with sports, sex, not wearing pink, etc. yeah, some guys truly like those things, but it's more to do with societal pressures than their y chromosome, in my opinion. i believe that women are the stronger sex, at least when it comes to pain tolerance, self-deprivation, and will-power. if men weren't such big babies about eating their veggies, and didn't let pride get in the way of passing on the beef, then they'd have the same life expectancy that women do. eventually, they'll all come around, and some already are. girls mature quicker than boys do, and likewise, men are slower to evolve than women. at any rate, we are equivalent beings, and i believe we are all capable of a healthy lifestyle.
I don't think being vegan is any more appealing to women than men. I think talking about being vegan is. :)
My husband, for example, will occasionally ask me a question or share a thought/quandry/frustration on a specific topic of discussion regarding vegan food and/or ethics. Other than that, he has already read what he needs to read, processed his opinions, and he doesn't "need" to talk about it anymore. Women are very different that way.
Amy is dead on. My brother and my boyfriend are both vegan but neither would come to this site, let alone post. We love to chat and share recipes and support eachother. Whenever they have cooking, shopping or vegan news questions they just ask me or my mom!
I talked about this on the guy section last night.
My feeling is that because women are maternal and more nurturing then it's natural for them to be into saving/helping out animals. Also because of the image obsessed society we live in there's a huge pressure on women to be trim and veganism/vegetarianism is a great and healthy/smart way to do that. Also if you look at veg/an magazines,blogs, books and cookbooks you'll see the majority of the authors/cooks are women. Look at Vegetarian Times,VegNews and the veg/an cookbook section in your local bookstore. I've also heard more than once that veg/an living is for white middle class women with nothing better to do. Very irritating.
These are just my own thoughts and observations BTW.
Greetings from the snowy Hamburg!
Was great reading all your thoughts and I guess we all "right" in a way.
By the way, I liked Jessica's list:
"Sports, sex, not wearing pink" and I can add Yoga (at least in Germany, most men see it as a "girly" thing.
Wishing you all a wonderful day!
so true, dorian. if only men would realize that doing yoga could only make them more sexy. there's nothing effeminate about a straight man doing yoga. it's only girly if he's already a girly kind of guy. silly boys.
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