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Men Are Embarrassed to Order Vegetarian Food, British Study Finds - Vice
"Cultural expectations run deep, and we often view men as the butchers and the barbecuers."
Recently, when I read through the findings of an informal British study conducted on men’s meat-eating habits, I immediately recalled a classic Seinfeld episode. “The Wink” aired in 1995, and features a newly health-conscious Jerry—he’s put on a few extra pounds, and is trying to lose them—gravitating towards a vegetarian diet. Unfortunately, the woman he’s dating is an inveterate carnivore, serving Jerry mutton and dragging him to a steakhouse for lunch. Throughout the episode, Jerry is consumed by anxiety surrounding his “un-manly” proclivities; at the lunch, he informs his date that he’s “not really much of a meat eater,” and she reacts with horror: “Are you one of those—” she begins to ask him, not daring to utter the v-word, and he responds wincingly, “Well, no, I’m not one of those.” Still, after learning that the steakhouse’s lightest meat option is a full roasted chicken stuffed with ham and topped with Gorgonzola, Jerry just can’t do it—and he orders a salad instead. As he does so, his face crinkles with shame, and he replays the words in his head: “Just a salad… just a salad… just a salad...”
"Cultural expectations run deep, and we often view men as the butchers and the barbecuers."
Recently, when I read through the findings of an informal British study conducted on men’s meat-eating habits, I immediately recalled a classic Seinfeld episode. “The Wink” aired in 1995, and features a newly health-conscious Jerry—he’s put on a few extra pounds, and is trying to lose them—gravitating towards a vegetarian diet. Unfortunately, the woman he’s dating is an inveterate carnivore, serving Jerry mutton and dragging him to a steakhouse for lunch. Throughout the episode, Jerry is consumed by anxiety surrounding his “un-manly” proclivities; at the lunch, he informs his date that he’s “not really much of a meat eater,” and she reacts with horror: “Are you one of those—” she begins to ask him, not daring to utter the v-word, and he responds wincingly, “Well, no, I’m not one of those.” Still, after learning that the steakhouse’s lightest meat option is a full roasted chicken stuffed with ham and topped with Gorgonzola, Jerry just can’t do it—and he orders a salad instead. As he does so, his face crinkles with shame, and he replays the words in his head: “Just a salad… just a salad… just a salad...”