This study explores the relationship between gender and veganism through a critical analysis of food-based discourse on three vegan blogs. As many researchers note, there is a strong association between meat and masculinity in North American society (Nath, 2011; Rothgerber, 2013; Rozin, Hormes, Faith & Wansink, 2012; Ruby & Heine, 2011; Sumpter, 2015). While some researchers argue that the practice of veganism inherently challenges traditional gender norms (Adams, 2015; Potts and Parry, 2010), in these blog posts there is little room for alternative gender performativity. Drawing upon critical feminist and vegan studies literature, and previous discourse analysis of food blogs, this research examines the intersections of gender and food through the practice of veganism. Furthermore, it analyses how the association between meat and masculinity is applied in the gendering of vegan food. I argue that the gendered discourse of vegan food on these blogs reinforces, rather than challenges, traditional gender norms through the use of tropes describing “carnivorous men” and “manly meals” with hopes of satiating male appetites.

Researchers should cite this work as follows:

• Hart, D., (2025), "Faux-meat and masculinity: The gendering of food on three vegan blogs", HSSCommons: (DOI: 10.15353/cfs-rcea.v5i1.233)

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1. blogs
2. gender
3. masculinity
4. Meat
5. veganism

Original publication: Hart, Dana. "Faux-meat and masculinity: The gendering of food on three vegan blogs." Canadian Food Studies / La Revue canadienne des études sur l'alimentation, vol. 5, no. 1, 2018, pp. 133-155. DOI: 10.15353/cfs-rcea.v5i1.233. This material has been re-published in an unmodified form on the Canadian HSS Commons with the permission of Canadian Food Studies / La Revue canadienne des études sur l'alimentation. Copyright © the author(s). Work published in CFS/RCÉA prior to and including Vol. 8, No. 3 (2021) is licensed under the Creative Commons CC BY license. Work published in Vol. 8, No. 4 (2021) and after is licensed under the Creative Commons CC BY-SA license. For details, see creativecommons.org/licenses/.