Meat, media, and masculinity: A qualitative study of how cultural associations between meat and masculinity are reflected in men's identities, media, and interpretations
This research examines the culturally entrenched association between meat consumption and masculinity and explores how this relationship is produced, represented, and interpreted. Departing from the widespread western belief that “real men eat meat,” the study investigates how this idea takes shape in men’s everyday identities, in media representations, and in men’s interpretations of mediated depictions of meat and masculinity. Situating meat as a cultural artefact rather than a purely nutritional object, the research conceptualizes food as a communicative system through which gendered meanings are expressed and negotiated.
Drawing on theories from food studies, studies on men and masculinities, and communication and cultural studies, the dissertation is inspired by the Circuit of Culture (Du Gay et al., 2013) as a guiding analytical lens. Empirically, it consists of four qualitative studies conducted in a Flemish context (i.e., the Dutch speaking part of Belgium). The first study explores how emerging adult men give meaning to meat practices in relation to their masculine identities through in-depth interviews. The second study analyses representations of meat, masculinity, and meat alternatives in Flemish television food advertising. The third study examines how meat and masculinities are visually and discursively constructed on Instagram through an analysis of posts tagged with #meat. The fourth study focuses on audience reception, investigating how young men interpret, negotiate, and sometimes contest digital representations of meat-related masculinities in focus group discussions.
Across the studies, the findings reveal a persistent tension between mediated representations and everyday practice. Media continue to circulate relatively coherent and stylized ideals of meat-related masculinity organized around health, craftsmanship, and taste, while men's lived experiences are more situational, ambivalent, and shaped by practical, social, and ethical considerations. Men do not simply internalize these representations but engage with them selectively, sometimes aligning with dominant ideals and at other times distancing themselves through critical engagement. This disjuncture points to a broader argument: the dominant cultural script is better captured not as "real men eat meat" but as "real men do meat", a formulation that foregrounds masculinity as something actively performed and reproduced through practice rather than passively held. By introducing the conceptual tools of meat-related masculinities , understood as the broad field of gendered identities and performances shaped through culturally laden practices and meanings surrounding meat, and masculine meat identities as specific configurations within that field, alongside masculine meat capital and the culinary meat gaze, this dissertation contributes to both the study of food as a communication system and to critical masculinities research, with practical implications for public health communication, media and advertising practice, and efforts to promote more sustainable and inclusive food cultures.
Elina Vrijsen obtained a Master in Social and Cultural Anthropology at the Catholic University of Leuven in 2019. She is currently pursuing a joint Ph.D. between the University of Antwerp (UAntwerpen) and Ghent University (UGent). She is a member of the research groups MIOS (UAntwerpen), CIMS (UGent), and an associate member of AMSoC (UAntwerpen).
Elina is supervised by prof. dr. Charlotte De Backer (University of Antwerp), prof. dr. Alexander Dhoest (University of Antwerp), and prof. dr. Sofie Van Bauwel (Ghent University). This research is funded by FWO as a Senior Research Project Fundamental Research (GO11221N), 2021-2025.
Sizzling steaks and manly molds: Exploring the meanings of meat and masculinities in young men's lives (Published in Appetite, 2025)
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
Feeding masculine norms: Representations of meat and masculinities in food advertising (Published in Journal of Consumer Culture, 2025)
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
From grill to gram: Cultural representations of meat and masculinities on Food Instagram (Published in Poetics, 2025)
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 masculinities 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
Beefed-up feeds: Young men interpreting meat-masculinity scripts (Under Review)
(Under Review)
Planting seeds of change: Unpacking 'Contesting anthropocentric masculinities through veganism' (Published in Tijdschrift voor Genderstudies, 2024)
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
Meat-masculinity scripts: Cha(lle)nging meat and masculinities (Forthcoming 2026)
(Forthcoming 2026)
Online discourse surrounding meat alternatives on TikTok (Work in progress)
(work in progress)