Eat Like a White Man: Meat-Eating, Masculinity, and Neo-Colonialism

Authors

Saphronia Carson, University of Central FloridaFollow

Mentor

Dr. Ann Gleig

Abstract

Gender Studies scholarship has argued that one significant way contemporary hegemonic masculinities are constructed and reinforced is through meat consumption. Conversely, plant-based diets such as veganism and vegetarianism are considered feminine. This paper builds on an emerging body of research that traces this gendering of meat and plant-based diets to British colonialism in India. Drawing on ecofeminist and postcolonial theory, it shows how British colonizers feminized Indian dietary cultures, specifically Hindu vegetarian diets, to reinforce their own sense of masculinity. Through critical analyses of marketing and media, it demonstrates how these colonial gendered food images continue to populate contemporary imaginations. Finally, it considers some potential current implications of these constructions of diet and gender, including the effect of a patriarchal food system on the climate crisis.

About the Author

Saphronia graduated from UCF with her BA in Interdisciplinary Studies TransGRaSS Track in Spring 2020 and is currently pursuing her Master’s degree in Sociology at UCF. Her research interests include ecofeminism, vegetarian ecofeminism, reproductive justice, Critical Race Theory, and intersectionality. She hopes to get her PhD in Women's and Gender Studies and eventually research and teach at the university level.

Recommended Citation

Carson, Saphronia (2021) "Eat Like a White Man: Meat-Eating, Masculinity, and Neo-Colonialism," The Pegasus Review: UCF Undergraduate Research Journal: Vol. 13: Iss. 2, Article 5.
Available at: https://stars.library.ucf.edu/urj/vol13/iss2/5