Study Claims Men Eat Meat to , ‘Affirm Their Masculine Identity’. A study from the University of California published in the journal ‘Appetite’ has found a link between diet and gender. Specifically questioned was the validity of the stereotype: “real men eat meat.” . The study was conducted by polling more than 1,700 adults in the United States between the ages of 18 and 88. . Participants were asked about their meat consumption levels, openness to non-meat diets, sense of gender identity and tendency to conform to gender roles. . Researchers found that men who followed more traditional gender roles ate more beef and chicken and had lower levels of openness to non-meat diets. Similar trends were not observed with men who reported higher fish or pork consumption or with women in general. . This suggests that men may be trying to validate their masculinity by eating more meat. The study also concluded that a “deeper understanding of gender roles” could be beneficial for the environment. Within-gender differences in self-ascribed masculinity/femininity among men offer insights into these phenomena… A deeper understanding of gender roles may be useful to reducing public meat consumption for improved human health and environmental sustainability, Study authors, via ‘Appetite’
