Sidebar to Vegan Lifter Project
Just free-associate between the words “vegan” and “masculine.” What comes to mind there?
Scott Shetler
I think there is this idea that being vegan is not masculine. There are people that claim that as a man if you eat soy you will start producing massive amounts of estrogen, your testosterone levels will plummet, you will grow boobs, that you are weak, that you’re somehow less of a man because you refuse to eat dead animals. As if consuming another being’s muscle tissue somehow makes you stronger. I feel that people who choose to eat a vegan diet for ethical reasons are incredibly strong. Taking a stand for the voiceless is one of the strongest things you can do in my opinion.
Tobias (VeganLifter)
I’m not trying to sound overly PC. I’m not that guy. But I don’t think masculine and feminine mean much. “Masculine” makes me think of silly things like not crying or looking after your family, neither of which are better suited to a certain gender. “Vegan” makes me think of someone trying not to pay for animal cruelty, but I’m very aware the word conjures up a lot of negative notions to other people.
Giacomo Marchese
I don’t understand how eating animals makes someone strong. Being manly means wielding your sword wisely. Taking a defenseless animal’s life and using it for one’s own personal desires is in no way courageous. Real men protect and provide, not destroy.
Daniel
It’s funny because for me there’s a few ways you can break that down – either scientifically, you can say, well, the macronutrient profile of what each party is eating can be exactly the same if you have a well-thought-out diet. So the if the building blocks of what gets you big and strong can be exactly the same, the only difference is one causes suffering and billions of lives and the other doesn’t? So my question would instead be “What would be the more ‘manly’ thing to support?”
I think it all stems from the idea that to be a “man” you must go out and hunt, kill and return red meat back home to provide for your family… which is just complete rubbish these days because majority of men out there are buying their meat from a supermarket wrapped up in packaging. In fact the majority of guys out there haven’t even come close to hunting for themselves and I’m sure would struggle to kill an animal not just from a practical standpoint but also they would feel morally wrong doing so. I can guarantee it.
Richard Arsenault
I would say not eating animals is more manly because you are standing for and protecting the weaker and innocent, therefore being vegan is actually more masculine than anything. Protecting the defenceless (being vegan) is masculine and killing unnecessarily is taking advantage for no reason, which takes away masculinity.