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Animal Rights/Vegan Activists' Strategies

Changing Men's Perceptions Of Veganism Through Framing

From Dr. S. Marek Muller, faunalytics
May 2024

The results showed that masculine frames did influence whether both men and women viewed vegan foods as 'masculine' or 'feminine,' as meals described with masculine terms were less likely to be perceived as feminine. However, men did not view vegan items more favorably just because they were framed in masculine terms.

[Summary By: Dr. S. Marek Muller | Original Study By: Scholz, A. E., & Lenhart, J. (2023) | Published: April 23, 2024]

Photo by Matheus Ferrero on Unsplash

Despite the health, environmental, and animal welfare impacts of veganism, research shows that it is consistently viewed by the public as a “feminine” concept. As such, men have consistently shown less interest in plant-based eating compared to women.

This study explored whether framing vegan meals as masculine (in other words, using adjectives conventionally viewed as being masculine) would positively impact men’s perceptions of vegan food and their attitudes toward veganism. The authors are careful to distinguish sex and gender, noting how characteristics associated with how “men” and “women” eat are gender stereotypes. In Western contexts, for example, men are often expected to consume larger portions of “meaty” and “protein-rich” foods.

The authors conducted an online experiment with 593 participants. Men and women were shown four different vegan dishes described using either conventional words (e.g., “delicious,” “colorful”) or masculine words (e.g., “meaty,” “beast”). Participants were asked to weigh in on whether each food was more suitable for men or women, their general attitudes toward each dish, and their attitudes toward vegans and veganism more broadly. Previous research suggests that some men identify with new forms of masculinity that reject conventional gender norms, so the authors also looked at whether men who embrace this “new” masculinity differed from other men in their responses.

The results showed that masculine frames did influence whether both men and women viewed vegan foods as “masculine” or “feminine,” as meals described with masculine terms were less likely to be perceived as feminine. However, men did not view vegan items more favorably just because they were framed in masculine terms. Additionally, these frames did not enhance men’s broader attitudes toward vegan food or veganism in general compared to those who saw conventionally-described meals.

“New masculinity” in this study was understood as an association of values such as authenticity, self-awareness, and emotional expressiveness. The authors expected that men who identified with these new forms of masculinity wouldn’t be as strongly affected by masculine framing compared to men who aligned with conventional stereotypes. However, compared to “conventional” men, “new masculine” men tended to rate vegan dishes more favorably when they were described with masculine language), contrary to the authors’ predictions. “New masculine” and “conventional” men also didn’t differ in their attitudes toward veganism when exposed to masculine framing, again working against the authors’ hypothesis.

Notably, the results also showed that women were not negatively impacted by masculine frames of vegan food. In general, even when the masculine terms were used, none of the foods were rated as more suitable for men; they were simply rated as less feminine/more neutral.

It’s important to bear in mind several limitations. For example, if the authors had tested the impacts of other “masculine” adjectives, participants may have perceived the foods differently. Furthermore, they note that at least one of their measurements may not have been the best way to capture participants’ attitudes toward the vegan dishes — specifically, they asked participants how hungry they felt after reading about each dish, but it’s unclear whether hunger varies based on briefly reading about different foods and how appetizing they sound.

This study is significant in that it suggests that using masculine language to describe vegan items can, in the short term, impact audience perceptions of a specific dish. However, given that men’s overall attitudes didn’t change based on the descriptors, the authors believe that a more long-term solution is needed to change broader societal attitudes and gender biases toward veganism.

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Meet the Author:
Dr. S. Marek Muller is an Assistant Professor of Communication Studies at Texas State University. They specialize in rhetoric and environmental communication. Dr. Muller’s research concerns the rhetoric of speciesism and the humanity/animality dialectic.

Citations:
Scholz, A. E., & Lenhart, J. (2023). Masculinity and veganism: the effect of linking vegan dishes with masculinity on men’s attitudes toward vegan food. Frontiers in Communication, 8, 1244471. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcomm.2023.1244471

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Posted on All-Creatures.org: May 10, 2024
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