Pukka! That word alone was my introduction to decades of cooking when mum instructed my brother and I to sit down and watch this new chef from England on the TV back in the 1990’s. Mum made a rule that we couldn’t move out of home until we could cook a week’s worth of family meals at home first- which taught us the skills of grocery shopping, food prep, time management and of course- a week off for mum.
Anthony Bourdain once remarked, “But I do think the idea that basic cooking skills are a virtue, that the ability to feed yourself and a few others with proficiency should be taught to every young man and woman as a fundamental skill, should become as vital to growing up as learning to wipe one’s own ass, cross the street by oneself, or be trusted with money.”
Gender and Cooking
According to a Gallup study, the ‘cooking gender gap’ widened for the first time in 2022 with women responsible for 8.7 meals per week with men down to an average of 4.0 per week over the same period.
An interesting European study (2022) examined the ‘masculinisation of domestic cooking’ as displayed in Swedish cookbooks. The authors of this paper observed that imagery and language in the cookbooks depicted cooking as an activity which was hip, fun and non-threatening to traditional norms of masculinity. Imagery such as flannelette shirts with sleeves rolled up, and even the ‘hairy chests’ on display, tapped into working-class depictions within a kitchen context.
A research paper (2003) examining Jamie Oliver’s influence on men and cooking, notes that Oliver presents cooking as a form of positive masculinity- which draws on men’s desires to be creative, innovative and playful.
Men and Meat Consumption
Australians eat a lot of meat compared to global averages. In 2022, the per capita average for consumption of beef globally was 6.3kg, for Australians it was a significant 23.7kg.
A large survey (2023) of over 5000 Australians sought to understand participants preferences for reducing meat consumption. Results showed that women and not men (on average) would consider reducing meat consumption in the future. The findings of the study suggested that eating meat was for many Australian men- a form of ‘enacting their masculinity’.
Men & Vegetarianism & Veganism
Only 6% of Australians follow a vegan or vegetarian diet as per a media survey report in 2023, although numbers are expected to increase due to the cost of meat products.
A research briefing (2023) titled, ‘Masculinity and veganism’ highlighted a number of barriers men specifically face when considering changing over to a vegan diet. These include-
Social exclusion– a fear that an individual dietary choice (veganism) won’t be accepted socially by friends.
Misinformation– for example, that consumption of soy products negatively affects testosterone levels.
Cognitive dissonance– many people (men) desire to avoid the harming of animals yet continue to consume meat. This is sometimes known as ‘the meat paradox’.
Television documentaries such as Netflix’s ‘The Game Changers’ are seen as an attempt to showcase that plant-based diets have positive effects on physical and even sexual performance.
Prostate Cancer and Plant-based Diets.
Prostate cancer is the leading cancer diagnosed in Australia. A systematic review on the impact of plant-based diets on prostate cancer incidence and outcomes reported that ‘interventional studies showed generally favourable results of lifestyle modifications incorporating a plant-based diet with prostate cancer outcomes as well as improvements in nutrition and general health’.
Real Men’s Health Takeaway
The research does suggest that some men do regard eating meat as a form or extension of their masculinity, however, for many men it does not.
The quote from bestselling author Michael Pollan, ‘eat food, not too much, mostly plants’ is hard to argue against from both a health and environmental standpoint and may serve many men as a standard to follow.
