Meat & Masculinity

I can’t say with certainty why our professor choose this image. At first I must admit I thought there was little actual thought put into it and our professor just searched google images for something like “cartoon cutting meat” or “meat cutting” but after doing that myself I could not find the exact image our professor used. So clearly there was thought put into. I’ve looked at the image several times and still haven’t really been struck by it at all, to me it is very unremarkable. It clearly relates to this weeks topic of meat eating being a masculine trait, or at least being associated with masculinity, but other than that no strong feelings. After looking at some of my classmates posts, some of them did have a strong reaction to it. This is probably in part due to being a man that regularly eats meat

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When it comes to gendered foods, for better or worse one that immediately pops into my head is Soy. While soy is in so many of the foods we eat, over the last few years it has become somewhat politicized (it would be so wild telling me 5 years ago, that I would eventually write this sentence). When we think of soy lattes and soy milk, we often associate them with trendy white girls (this is of course a misogynistic thought but I can’t deny that the stereotype exists, just because I don’t like it.) Whereas real men drink black coffee or something more traditional. Soy has also become associated with the “beta male” which basically means a feminized/subordinate male. Often those in the alt-right, or just people who like to start arguments online will substitute beta male with the term soyboy, or something to that effect.

The other food that I see as particularly feminine is fruits and vegetables. I think masculine food are typically seen as less unhealthy, and feminine foods are more healthy. I think this is due to societies beauty standards for women involve them being skinny. Corporations than use this in advertising and plant based meals are targeted more towards women than men. This means that meat based products have to be advertised more to men as plant based products are being pushed on women.

Gaards writings on humans relationship with pets was interesting to me. When she wrote about the bird in the video rental store I had a lot of mixed feelings. I am an aquarium enthusiast. I have over 100 fish and snails in my home and I think I take great care of them. I am particularly fond of the Betta fish, which is often mistreated. Betta fish are often kept in small cups without filtration and enrichment, I keep my Bettas in a minimum 2.5 gallon tank with plant-life and often snails for both companionship, enrichment, and to help keep their habitat clean. Right now none of my bettas are in less than a 5 gallon tank. I often see Betta fish (and fish in general) being given as gifts to to people that do not understand their needs, and a lot of people that just flat out don’t care. I often argue with my mother about this issue as she has a betta in a cup at her job. I was able to encourage her to do more water changes, and gave her a higher quality food to give him, but he is still not being cared for properly.

Pets do live lives similar to slavery, however with the way cats and dogs have been domesticated, it is impossible for many of them to live in the wild, and in the case of freshwater aquatic life. Many of them are captive bred and do not have a wild to return to. In the case of one fish (off the top of my head) the Bala Shark, it only exists in large numbers in captivity. So now we are at a difficult point, due to domestication, and other human activity many animals are trapped as pets. I think it is our duty as the species that primarily put them in this position to care for them and provide them with good lives.

7 Replies to “Meat & Masculinity”

  1. Hi Nick,
    I agree with you that non-human domestic animals are here now and most cannot survive in the wild any longer. Like Greta Gaard mentions in her essay, “We live in paradoxical times. We don’t have good choices, choices that allow us to live in this culture and maintain our relationships with other animals without violating their integrity.” She’s right, that we cannot go back and undo what was done in domesticating pets centuries ago. Cats and Dogs for example have been bred for centuries to live with humans. They have adapted ways of understanding us.

    There’s a very interesting article on the subject of domesticated cats and dogs. It talks about the history of domestication, and how cats and dogs intelligence has evolved by living with humans for so long. https://www.wired.com/2014/04/citizen-canine-cats-dogs-personhood/.
    I think what Gaard was hoping her readers will take away from her essay is that we can’t undo what’s been done to domestic animals. Because of this, we have to make a pledge to care for and be advocates for the well-being of animals. Like you did with your Mom and her fish, and Gaard did with the parakeet in the pizzeria.

    1. In addition to my previous comment, I’d like to comment further on what you wrote about soy. I had no idea that men call other men “soyboys” if they make a choice to have soy instead of milk or black coffee. That’s crazy, how society forces us to adhere to what they feel is “manly” or “feminine.” What do you think we could do to remedy this thought process? How can we make things different? Is bringing awareness to the subject enough? The problem I have sometimes with feminist theory is that there’s a lot of talk about what the problem is and not so much talk about solid ways to improve those issues.

      1. Thank you for the response, and the interesting article about domestication. Honestly most men do not refer to other men as soyboys, and I’m sure most men who don’t go deeper into various internet subgroups, are not going to come across the term. The soyboy insult/meme I believe originated with a series of articles and videos from InfoWars (a publication most known for its association with Alex Jones) about the amount of soy products on the market feminizing men. It then spread, both through earnest and ironic usage. A soyboy isn’t necessarily a dude that consumes a lot of soy, it’s more of a synonym for beta, or virgin, etc.

        Here’s a decent (though somewhat tone deaf) article about the phenomenon.

        https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/soy-boy-insult-what-is-definition-far-right-men-masculinity-women-a8027816.html

        The problem (in my opinion) with a lot of these alt-right insults (and with the alt-right in general) is that so many people use these insults ironically and more as a joke than in earnest, but for some the line between just thinking a meme is funny and actually believing it is hard to draw.

        1. Wow! So according to that article if a man cares about environmental issues or say reducing his animal consumption… he is considered “unmanly?” Last time I checked caring about sustainability is a global issue not a man/woman issue. These kind of insults are what continues to create so much divisiveness in America. I see what you mean how it has become a politicized comment.

  2. Hi Nick,

    Your post caught my eyes, particularly the fish in the aquarium. The idea of having a fish in an aquarium is something I never understood. They say it’s meant to be soothing or relaxing but I don’t see that. What I see is a helpless creature that is meant to be free (like birds), encaged for the viewing and comfort of humans.

    Yet I also think about the encaged creatures we call “seafood”. We make fanciful dishes out of them – sushi, lobster dishes, shrimp cocktail, and the list goes on. Living in New England, I am part of that society who loves seafood but lately, I’ve been paying closer attention to my food choices which left me stunned at some of the seafood that is out here on the market.

    Most of the seafood – salmon, shrimp, tuna, you name it, comes from other countries like China, New Zealand and other parts of Europe. Yes! Fish farming I realized, is just as big or even bigger than say that of, beef, chicken or pigs. This type of farming is also hurting the environment due to pesticides. “Pesticides and veterinary drugs that have been used in an effort to treat the pests and diseases that afflict fish in these concentrated numbers. Such chemicals affect the entire aquatic ecosystem” (Anita Wolf, Advocacy for Animals). Anita’s article found that the so called “seafood” we consume are raised in such unsanitary conditions, “swamps and mangroves” that the chemicals need to be used to prevent diseases in humans. She talks about “shrimp ponds” in Thailand where sea lice fester and feed off of salmon. What’s more astonishing is that these are diseases that can be spread to humans, yet we are still told that salmon and tuna are great sources of vitamins. But then again, it’s up to us to understand what we are eating.

    PLEASE READ
    http://advocacy.britannica.com/blog/advocacy/2015/12/the-pros-and-cons-of-fish-farming-2/

    Mary

  3. I am very curious about your passage on soy, when you discuss how “real men” prefer their coffee black and women like soy milk in theirs. I think that conversation in itself is broader than just soy. What I have noticed is that putting flavors and sugar into coffee is seen more as feminine while “real men” drink their coffee black. This is part of that toxic masculinity men are raised in to believe that they cannot enjoy flavored coffee without losing their masculinity or “alpha male” standard. I have known many men that when I offer them a KCup they laugh at it and say “men don’t drink that”.
    You talk about how we have domesticated animals and robbed them of their ability to fend for themselves. While this may be true for dogs, there is little difference between the genetic makeup of a wild cat and a house cat. Here is an article by the Smithsonian talking about the similarities in the dna:
    https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/ask-smithsonian-are-cats-domesticated-180955111/
    There are plenty of cats living in my neighborhood that survive on their own. I don’t know where they sleep at night but they seem to be able to manage.
    Would a cat be better off living on the streets or in a home? I can’t say. I love my animals and my life would be empty without their companionship, so I hope that they get as much out of the relationship as I do.

  4. I find it interesting that you couldn’t see much in the image, and that you said that it might be because you’re a man. I think it has a lot to do with you being a man. Of course, this image is not the easiest image to decipher, but you being a man, that is not directly affected by the detereoration of nature, would not understand it right away. I have to admit though, I had to really look at the image in order to understand the deeper meaning. However, as a woman, I automatically noticed a sense of power over the meat on the cutting board and I instantly knew that there was much more to this image. Also, I liked your comment on the betta fishes. When I read what you said about these fishes being kept in small containers, my mind automatically made the comparison between these fishes and women. Women are pretty much kept in captivity because there is only so much that a woman is socially allowed to do. By law, us women have the same freedom as everyone else, but socially there are so many “rules” and limitations for women. I recently saw a video on Instagram titled “Be a Lady” and it’s of a woman narrating all the rules that women are expected to follow. I will look for it on YouTube and post it here:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8qyozbPkHk

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