veggie queens

Study finds vegetarian men are presumed less masculine & maybe “even gay”. But why???

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In a sunlit kitchen, two attractive gay men, one with ginger hair and a ginger beard and the other with short cropped brown hair and stubble, stand in front of a counter at the sink. They are preparing a healthy vegetarian meal, rinsing green lettuce and chopping cucumber.

Fellas, is it gay to not chow down on meat?

The answer might just be yes, according to a new Polish study on perceptions around vegetarians and vegans.

A “significant portion” of respondents believed that men who follow a plant-based diet were lacking in masculinity.

Furthermore, male participants reported that vegan men are stereotypically “physically weak” and “even gay” –– a sentiment that was also echoed by a handful of women who were surveyed.

For the uninformed, vegetarians maintain a diet that usually prohibits meat, poultry, and fish but they may eat eggs and other dairy products.

On the other hand, vegans typically avoid all animal products –– even honey. (Sorry, Beyoncé.)

Meat-eating puns aside, it’s not a huge surprise veganism is written off as gay, considering the lifestyle has become associated with liberalism (and hipsterism).

In fact, plant-based participants revealed they often felt “perceived as trendy or fashionable for their diet choices,” rather than “making a conscious ethical or health choice.”

That being said, the study also found that women were more open to dating a partner who follows a plant-based diet than the men were.

So, is it toxic masculinity, or is steak really just that good?

Still, there might be some truth to the stereotypes.

There are a handful of outspoken LGBTQ+ vegan and vegetarian celebs like Elliot Page, Ellen DeGeneres, Alan Cumming, and Jane Lynch.

And more recently, Scott Pilgrim gave LGBTQ+ veggie lovers onscreen representation when muscly and vegan-powered Todd –– voiced by hunky Brandon Routh –– had a bisexual affair in Netflix‘s recent animated adaptation.

Perhaps the trend is based on empathy.

Journalist Jane Velez-Mitchell speculated that since queer people relate with “the downtrodden, the overlooked, the forgotten,” they are more sympathetic to animals stuck in the industry farming system.

Then again, Chloë Morgan of The Vegan Review argued that since LGBTQ+ people are accustomed to living outside of societal norms, they’re more open to adopting a nonconventional diet. Especially one routed in activism.

Still, at a time when we’re classifying dogs, drinks, and even wet wipes as “gay,” queer people could just be drawn to Sweetgreen salads and Meatless Mondays because of a perceived gayness.

As Gay Men Don’t Get Fat author Simon Doonan wrote in 2012: “Straight foods are basic and uncontrived, while gay foods are fiddly and foofy.”

(He also called sushi “swishy” and Mexican food “unbelievably macho,” adding, “As delicious as a burrito is, it is basically just a cross between a turd and a penis.” But we digress.)

Although, the answer could be even simpler.

According to UK dating site Illicit Encounters, vegetarians and vegans have more sex than meat eaters and are happier with their sex lives.

And in the gay world, a plant-based diet is typically rich in fiber… making it easier for bottoms to prep –– and saving you some money on Metamucil.

Whether you’re a walking vegan stereotype or a gay who loves bone-in wings, it shouldn’t make you any less of a man.

At the end of the day, we can all bond over our mutual love of sausage equality.

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