MASCULINITY REIMAGINED THROUGH A VEGAN LENS: A MANIFESTO

Abstract

This essay provides an opportunity to dismantle masculinity and power structures by applying a vegan lens. Part manifesto and part critical analysis of media representations of what it means to be a man, I am exploring this topic using historical, nutritional, and health data. Men are navigating a complex web of cultural norms, stereotypes, and peer perceptions that push a mainstream dietary preference that reinforces traditional notions of strength, virility, and dominance, and that subjugate the idea of veganism. This topic is important because it sheds light on the imbalance of power that exist against amongst various groups of people, highlighting the marginalization of women and animals. I hope readers will see that performative acts of masculinity, often in the form of the consumption of animal products, only further divide the people and animals of the world. There is a better way to navigate a relationship with one another and our Mother Earth. The deep overlap between feminism and veganism must challenge traditional notions of masculinity.