So is there a link between meat consumption and perceptions of masculinity? Does the mindset of the prehistoric caveman hunter live on in today\u2019s restaurants and weekend barbecues? <\/p>\n
To explore this idea, my colleagues and I conducted a survey of more than 1,000 men in the UK, which revealed<\/a> that social ideas involving \u201cavoidance of femininity\u201d and status were indeed linked to higher levels of meat-eating and a notion that meat is masculine. <\/p>\n The survey showed that those sympathetic to traditional masculine norms consumed more red meat and poultry, and were less keen to part from the meat and dairy in their diet. We then followed up with some of the men who had high levels of \u201cmeat attachment\u201d to join an online discussion, and used remotely moderated focus groups<\/a> to listen in on their conversations about their diets. <\/p>\n So what did they talk about?<\/p>\n More often than not, men were reluctant to talk about the role of gender in meat consumption, or completely rejected the notion that there was any link, with one participant in his thirties saying: \u201cI don\u2019t think gender influences what I eat at all. If there\u2019s something I want [to eat] I\u2019ll just have it.\u201d<\/p>\n He went on: \u201cThere\u2019s no such thing as a manly or womanly dish if you ask me. It\u2019s just food, so it\u2019s literally got zero influence on whether I\u2019d eat something or not.\u201d<\/p>\n For others, the relationship between meat and masculinity was more complex. Some men noted for example that the women in their lives were more likely to reduce their meat consumption.<\/p>\n One man in his forties, said: \u201cI live with five women and most of them would happily not eat meat at all. Also [the female] partners of quite a lot of my friends don\u2019t eat a lot of meat. They would happily eat no meat at all. Whereas all of us [men], you know, we like our meat.\u201d <\/p>\n For others, the link between meat and masculinity was explicit, with meat consumption linked to status within social groups. John, in his forties, commented on the obligation he sometimes feels when dining with what he called \u201calpha males\u201d to \u201calways go for a meat dish or a steak or something like that\u201d. <\/p>\n He added: \u201cMaybe I feel a slight obligation to go down [the meat] route sort of subconsciously. I\u2019ve probably felt I need to have a steak here or need to have something that [perhaps] shows my masculinity. <\/p>\n “I feel sort of safer behind choosing something like that rather than, say, a pasta or a salad-based dish.\u201d<\/p>\n What\u2019s at stake?<\/p>\n
![\"Man](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/file-20250922-56-p8raa8.jpg\")
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