Veganism and masculinity. Can real men be vegan?

You all know about that stereotype in the society that real men must eat meat. Why is that? Probably because meat has a lot of protein, and protein is associated with big muscles. But so do plants, plant protein is no worse in muscle-building, and so many vegan athletes are a living proof of that. Then what, maybe because in cave times men were hunting and providing survival for their families when there was no plant food available. But that is no longer valid for modern men, who “hunt” for their meat in a supermarket. Doesn’t require so much courage and strength to pick up a package from a shelf :)

Another reason, I think, is that killing an animal is brutal and ruthless, and girls for some reason seem to like such “tough” guys, who appear aggressive and indifferent. Maybe because they mistake it for confidence.

I’m not at all attracted to such men. Maybe I was a little in my teenage years, but that was very superficial, and I know for sure, that if I dag deeper, I would be repulsed from such relationship. Now I’m a grown up and I value completely different qualities in men. And all of these qualities are present in vegan men.

Manly qualities that make a vegan man:


  • Responsibility. A vegan man recognizes that his choices have an impact on others, and he takes responsibility for what he does and consumes. He usually cares about how his choices affect not only animals, but also the environment and other people. Also he’s taken responsibility for his own health.

  • Consciousness. He is aware and wants to be aware of all the truth, even if it’s uncomfortable or painful.

  • Open-mindedness and independent thinking. He was most probably raised as a non-vegan, but he was open-minded enough to question the status quo, research and make his own conclusions.

  • Will power. Changing one’s habits and diet is not always easy, especially in the beginning, and not falling back into old ways does require some will power.

  • Confidence and ability to stand for himself. Living in a largely non-vegan world means that a vegan man will likely face some mocking, teasing, sarcastic comments. And still he stands for his beliefs and responds to sarcasm with dignity and humor (or learns to do that eventually).

  • Kindness and empathy. That doesn’t even need to be explained :)

  • Desire to protect those who are weaker. Isn’t that one of the most important things we want to find in a man? That what makes a real man. And baby animals raised for slaughter are the most vulnerable and innocent beings on the planet. How killing them, especially for vain reasons, can be manly? I’m not even talking about paying to others for killing these babies.


For me these qualities are the most important. Masculinity is not about being tough and rough and ruthless. It’s about being strong morally and physically, having strong values and ability to stay true to them no matter what. It’s taking responsibility for one’s words, actions, and those who are weaker. It’s compassion and kindness, desire to protect.

To all vegan men out there. Thank you for not being afraid to step up and make really manly choices. Thank you for being a living example for others. Thank you for caring.


- Go Vegan -


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A great perspective. Wish it was vast.

what do you mean?

real ANIMALS eat meat. There are no animals in nature that do no eat animal flesh.

Interesting fact, vegan men have higher overall testosterone levels than both vegetarian and omni men. Men who are vegan find building muscle easier and faster than their omni counterparts. I for one can attest to this, I have never built muscle as quick and easy with no DOMS.

Also with the lack of plaque in arteries blood flow is greatly improved, resulting in... Well I'll let you work that one out!

Yes, I heard about that, including a better flow in all the arteries ;)) Thank you for mentioning the health benefits for vegan men (and also + reduced risk of prostate cancer and less exposure to female hormones). Luckily, these topics are widely covered elsewhere, and in my post I wanted to talk about character and personal traits :)

Oh for sure, compassion, empathy and kindness should not be overlooked. Vegan men also have to be mentally stronger as they do not fit into the societal norms that they are supposed to. It is a much easier life to go with the crowd. As a vegan man I have had many, many jibes against my masculinity for being vegan. To me, they mean nothing, I am not vegan for approval of others I am vegan in-spite of it.

Great work too BTW, I believe that articles like this are very important. It is not a topic that is regularly discussed yet is a very important topic. Omni men who may read this need to be able to see that it is not a weakness in character, rather it is a strength.

🌱💪Plant strong all day long💪🌱

yes yes yes :))

oh how cool! I'm in the process of making a video about that exact same topic =) Great minds think alike!

cool)) the topic must be flying in the air! =)
And I took this idea from That Vegan Couple's podcast, although they were talking about it from a completely different angle

Vegan men are on the rise. Time to put egos on the side! My hubby is feeling great on a plant-based diet. No more meds to control MS... whole foods, exercise and lots of love!

yeaah! my husband also feels great after he started living with me, and he wrote a post about it https://steemit.com/vegansofsteemit/@clixmoney/almost-vegan-for-two-years

I'll check it out! Have a lovely day!

I noticed your post in the Facebook Steemit for Resteem group. I appreciate your thoughts on this topic. I agree that men receive messages in our culture about the need to be masculine and strong, instead of being supported for who they really feel they are. In some cases masculine and strong :) But there is more to every person than just those qualities. One by one, we can continue some of the positive changes going on. Thanks for this article. I'll be following you for more quality content.

thank you for support! We, women, should encourage men to value qualities different from what is currently prevalent

still finding so many men not on this mindset and bragging about how much meat they can consume, seems like we still got a long way to go :(

yes, that's frustrating( they may also brag how they hunt, or beat their wife, or kick a cat on a street :(

I think it's all about choices and it's true that not because your a man you need to be tough and can't be a vegetarian

and choices are based on beliefs and stereotypes, unfortunately

More people need to read articles like this - it is a true reflection of masculinity and how it is changing in the modern world along with veganism. Thank you so much for sharing this powerful message @steemitbaby! ⭐️

In this world, a man who is compassionate and can truly feel empathy is one of the most powerful things that will change masculinity forever by giving it a new definition 🔥

yes, exactly, I think its the Masculinity of the highest level

hello, I am the husband of @steemitbaby, I help her to grow on steemit and she do her best to write a post like this. Please can you explain what do you mean by that tag and why you are upvoting it to advertise it ? May be I don't know about a vegan project in steemit, because when I click on that tag, I don't find any post tagged to it !

i think he might be using the tag to show he is a male vegan steemian but i dont know. maybe it should become a tag for male vegans, there are less than the ratio to females, u guys can band together and push each other up.

of course I can and I am always open for coopiration, but sending only a tag with no words is not good, it looks like spam, let him at least explain what he want and don't let other people explain for him.

i noticed he was a bit of a joker, so maybe its a joke. lets see what he says