The impact of masculinity stress on preferences and willingness-to-pay for red meat

Mesler, Rhiannon MacDonnell; Leary, R. Bret; Montford, William J.

doi:10.1016/j.appet.2021.105729

Cited by 25 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…In one study, greater conformity to traditional gender roles predicted lower openness to vegetarianism among men, but not among women (Rosenfeld & Tomiyama, 2021), suggesting that between-gender differences in resistance to vegetarianism may be due to gender role norms among men rather than norms among women. This finding aligns with other research reporting that masculinity threats amplify men's attachments to eating meat, whereas femininity threats have no effect on women's meat attachments (Mesler et al, 2022;Nakagawa & Hart, 2019).…”

Section: Meat Avoidance As a Threat To Masculinitysupporting

confidence: 91%

“…For men, anxieties about feeling less mas culine upon giving up meat seem to pose a unique barrier on top of other common concerns. In one study, which took a gender-centered approach to meat reduction, a masculinity affirmation-which involved telling men that they are more masculine than 85% of the population-was shown to reduce men's commitments to eating meat (Mesler et al, 2022). Masculinity affirmations thus offer a promising tactic for improving men's attitudes toward meat reduction.…”

Section: Reducing Meat Consumption Among Menmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Masculinity and men’s resistance to meat reduction

Rosenfeld

2023

Psychol. Hum.-Anim. Intergr. Relat.

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This article conceptualizes meat reduction as a masculinity threat for men and presents strategies for making men more receptive to meat reduction. Meat consumption is stereotypically associated with traditional masculinity. Compared to women, men tend to eat more meat and to be more resistant to vegetarianism. Eschewing meat has potential to undermine feelings of and portrayals of manhood, whereas eating meat may provide men with a sense and image of traditional masculinity. Efforts to frame meat reduction as a masculine act may be useful for promoting behavior change among men. Three strategies are proposed for aligning meat reduction with masculinity, ripe for testing in future research. These strategies include emphasizing new forms of masculinity, masculine branding of meat reduction, and touting athletic/sexual performance benefits of meat reduction. Efforts that target beliefs about masculinity have promise for reducing meat consumption among men.

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Section: Meat Avoidance As a Threat To Masculinitysupporting

confidence: 91%

Section: Reducing Meat Consumption Among Menmentioning

confidence: 99%

Masculinity and men’s resistance to meat reduction

Rosenfeld

2023

Psychol. Hum.-Anim. Intergr. Relat.

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“…But ideology and target audience appear to play a role in LAD Bible: aimed at a largely young, male audience, it was the only pro-meat outlet from our sample. This suggests that meat continues to play a role in shaping perceptions of masculinity in UK society, as it does in other Anglophone countries ( Rothgerber, 2013 ; Carroll et al, 2019 ; Mesler et al, 2022 ). Improved reporting by journalists on the relationship between meat consumption and health can help to improve health outcomes in the UK, including among lower-income groups.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

One person’s meat is another’s poison: representations of the meat-health nexus in UK news media

Mroz

Painter

2022

Health Promotion International

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Mainstream media play a central role in shaping the ways diet and nutrition are discussed in the public sphere, yet few studies have explored its depictions of the meat-health nexus. Focusing on eight of the most popular news online sites consumed by lower-income groups in the UK—the demographic most likely to eat meat, according to a survey conducted for this study—we carried out content analysis of 128 articles. We found, first, a multiplicity of pro- and anti-meat narratives across all news outlets; second, that the dominant recommendation, found in 40% of our sample, was to eat less or no red meat; and third, that a balanced or neutral sentiment was present in over half of our sample, with a ratio of 3:2 (anti-versus pro-meat) in remaining articles. We found that the editorial leaning of a news outlet was not closely correlated with its overall sentiment towards meat consumption; all were neutral or slightly anti-meat, with the exception of LAD Bible, the only clearly pro-meat outlet. Qualitative analysis uncovered three key themes: the risk of red meat on colorectal cancer, uncertainty around plant-based options, and individual dietary choice. We use case studies guided by these themes to highlight some of the shortcomings of health communication and provide recommendations, with a focus on improved dialogue between journalists and researchers.

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“…Furthermore, men who feel threatened (vs. affirmed) in their masculinity are more likely to agree that they need meat to feel full and less likely to consider adopting a vegetarian diet (Nakagawa & Hart, 2019). Moreover, men who worry that they do not live up to traditional masculine gender norms are more likely to believe that consuming meat enhances their masculinity and express greater intentions to purchase meat (Mesler et al., 2021). These findings highlight the social function of meat consumption for impression‐management strategies or as compensatory behavior and indicate that men may consume meat to display gender‐conforming behavior.…”

Section: Meat Is Manlymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Indeed, the more men subscribe to this “new masculinity,” the more positive their attitudes towards vegetarianism and the stronger their intentions to reduce their meat consumption in the future (de Backer et al., 2020). Research also found that beef consumption was no longer used as a response to masculinity threat when it was presented as a behavior that women engage in frequently (Mesler et al., 2021). This suggests that men are sensitive to reference group information when evaluating the masculine value of meat.…”

Section: Future Directions and Possible Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Animalizing women and feminizing (vegan) men: The psychological intersections of sexism, speciesism, meat, and masculinity

Salmen

Dhont

2022

Social & Personality Psych

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Images of sexualized women depicted as animals or alongside meat are routinely used in advertising in Western culture.Philosophers and feminist scholars have long theorized that such imagery reflects the lower status of both women and animals (vs. men) in society and argued that prejudiced attitudes towards women (i.e., sexism) and animals (i.e., speciesism) are interconnected, with meat-eating as a core symbol of masculinity. Addressing these key ideas from ecofeminist theory, we review the psychological evidence on the associations between sexism, speciesism, meat, and masculinity. Research on the animalistic dehumanization of women provides evidence that sexism and speciesism are psychologically entangled and rooted in desires for group-based dominance and inequality. Furthermore, research on the symbolic value of meat corroborates its masculine value expressing dominance and power, and suggests that men who abstain from meat consumption (e.g., vegans) are feminized and devalued, particularly by those higher in sexism.We conclude that a greater recognition of the interconnected nature of patriarchal gender relations and practices of animal exploitation, including meat-eating, can help in efforts to improve the status of both women and animals.

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The impact of masculinity stress on preferences and willingness-to-pay for red meat

Cited by 25 publications

References 45 publications

Masculinity and men’s resistance to meat reduction

Masculinity and men’s resistance to meat reduction

One person’s meat is another’s poison: representations of the meat-health nexus in UK news media

Animalizing women and feminizing (vegan) men: The psychological intersections of sexism, speciesism, meat, and masculinity

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