About Elina Vrijsen

Vrijsen, E., Van Bauwel, S., Dhoest, A., & De Backer, C. (2025). Sizzling steaks and manly molds: Exploring the meanings of meat and masculinities in young men's lives. Appetite, 204, 107754. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2024.107754

Abstract

Eating (red) meat and masculinity are historically and culturally associated, leading to the stereotype “real men eat meat” in western societies. Existing literature primarily examines men’ motivations, justifications, and attitudes toward meat consumption; however, there is limited understanding of the themes that emerging adult men associate with their meat consumption and how these themes relate to their masculine identity. This study employed semi-structured interviews with thirty men aged 18 to 29, living in Flanders, Belgium. Through inductive analysis, we identified five meat themes (i.e. the topics men talk about when discussing their meat-eating behavior): “traditional cuisine”, “doing meat”, “fitness”, “taste”, and “meat ethics”. Subsequently, these themes were deductively connected to the frameworks of Wong and Wang's (2022) model of masculinities and Piazza et al.’s (2015) 4N scale of meat justification to gain insight into the link between masculine identities and meat consumption. Finally, we formulated five “masculine meat  identities”: “normative”, “performative”, “embodied”, “hedonistic” and “ethical” meat masculinities. Each identity reflects how men utilize meat, particularly red meat, for communicating and reinforcing their masculine identity, while also serving as a medium for expressing personal and social identities. This research contributes to a deeper understanding of how food, especially meat, operates as a means of communicating gender, bridging the disciplines of food and masculinities studies. Moreover, insights obtained from these masculine meat identities provide implications for public health, marketing, and policy. By tailoring strategies that resonate with diverse masculine identities, stakeholders can better align their initiatives with global health and sustainable objectives.

Keywords: Masculinities, Meat, Masculine meat identities, Flanders, Thematic analysis, In-depth interviews

Vrijsen, E., Dhoest, A., Van Bauwel, S., & De Backer, C. (2025a). Feeding masculine norms: Representations of (non-) meat and masculinities in food advertising. Journal of Consumer Culture, 25(3), 296-315. https://doi.org/10.1177/14695405251356545

Abstract 

The association between meat and masculinity is a historically and culturally constructed relationship, prevalent in western cultures through various forms of media and popular culture, including advertisements. This study examines how Flemish TV food advertisements represent masculinities in relation to both meat and non-meat alternatives, shedding light on how advertising contributes to the construction of meat as a symbol of masculinity. Through a quantitative and qualitative content analysis of 105 advertisements, we identified three key representation techniques. The first, duplication, features near-identical advertisements for meat and meat substitutes, showing no clear gender distinctions. The second, magnification, exaggerates gender markers, often through animated portrayals, reinforcing stereotypical masculinity. The third, confirmation, maintains normative masculinity by applying stereotypically masculine imagery to both meat and plant-based products. Notably, the latter technique uses traditional associations between masculinity and meat consumption to market plant-based alternatives as masculine, appealing to male consumers without challenging dominant gender norms. These findings highlight how advertising adapts to market trends while preserving cultural values, reinforcing normative masculinity even when promoting sustainable consumption. This study contributes to debates on masculinities, (non-) meat consumption, and consumer culture, emphasizing the need for more inclusive representations of masculinity in food advertising.

Keywords: Masculinities, Gender, Meat, Advertisements, Representation

Abstract

This article examines the cultural associations between meat and masculinities, which is prevalent in western societies and manifested through various forms of popular culture, such as Instagram. Social media play a pivotal role in representing gender identities and food practices in digital spaces, both reflecting and constructing our ideas and beliefs about social life. This article investigates how Food Instagram represents the cultural associations between meat and mascu￾linities through visual imagery and language. By conducting a reflexive thematic analysis of Instagram posts using #meat, we examined how the cultural stereotype of “real men eat meat” is represented on social media, shedding light on the role of meat as a communication system within contemporary western societies. We identified three digital meat-masculinity scripts, expressing cultural associations between meat and masculinity, namely a healthy lifestyle, craftmanship, and taste. These scripts are represented by masculine meat symbols (i.e., how meat functions symbolically in the construction and representation of masculinity, especially in digital and media contexts): the fit male body, masculine meat capital, and the culinary meat gaze. The adoption of these notions in content on meat and masculinities serves as a way to express masculine identity, in order to obtain an ideal form of masculinity.

Keywords: Meat, Masculinities, Food Instagram, Male body, Masculine meat capital, Culinary meat gaze

(Under Review) 

Vrijsen, E. (2024). Planting Seeds of Change. Tijdschrift voor Genderstudies, 27(4), 375-378. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.5117/TVGN2024.4.005.VRIJ

(Forthcoming 2026) 

(work in progress)