Meat, Masculinity, and Men

When it comes to the relationship of meat and masculinity, I honestly have never given it much thought.  However, after taking some time to think about it, meat and men do seem to be used together quite often.  When I think of meat, I think of a big piece of steak or a huge burger from somewhere like Hardy’s.  While I myself eat meat, these pieces of meat are often too large for me to even consider finishing.  I grew up in a household with two guys, my dad and my brother, and let me tell you, they can eat some meat!  They do eat veggies but meat is the consistency of their diet.

     Recently, I read some of Carol Adams’ book, The Sexual Politics of Meat.  Adams makes many good points about the intimate connection of meat and masculinity and how meat eating is also related to the oppression of women.  I like the example she gives of mythology, and how in a painting of Henry VIII, he is eating steak and kidney pie, while all of the women surrounding him are eating fruits or vegetables.  It shows how meat eating is portrayed as primarily a male activity.  Adams speaks on how we have even started trying to convey that if you are pregnant and want a boy, you should eat more “meat (or fish, vegetables, chocolate, and salt)” but if you want a girl you should stick to “milk, cheese, nuts, beans, and cereals.” Vegetables, fruits, and other nonmeat items are associated with women. 

     In history it is seen that the role of the woman of the household was to feed her husband first, then her children, and then herself.  This shows how low in the chain the woman is.  She was to stick to the vegetables and the “women food.”  The woman is the one who is to prepare the food for her husband and give him the meat that he “needs.” In Adams’ book, she discusses how in some parts of the world women can be punished for eating certain meats.  This shows how meat eating is connected with the oppression of women.  How is it simply okay to tell someone what he or she can and cannot eat?  On page 43 of Adams’ book, she talks of how meat is necessary for strength; therefore, men need meat in order to be strong.  I can relate to this, because I could not tell you the amount of times I heard my mom tell my brother that he needs to eat his food so that he could grow up big and strong. 

     When I look at the big picture of things, it seems to reveal that meat equals power, and given that meat is associated with men, it shows that men have the power.  So where does this leave the women?  In Ruth Ozeki’s novel, My Year of Meats, she writes about a Japanese housewife, Akiko, who is controlled and overpowered by her husband, Joichi.  Joichi is obsessed with the idea of the “All-American Family," and he even refers to himself as John.  He likes that the male is seen as a superior to the woman and that meat is a traditional American dish.  He continues to make Akiko make him some kind of meat every week.  This affects Akiko, in that, she is unable to properly digest meat.  She is also malnourished and no longer fertile; however, she continues to do as her husband asks in order to please him.  Ozeki shows how meat equals power through Joichi and how he associates his superiority over his wife with meat. 

     Another point that Adams makes in her book, is that vegetarians are primarily seen as women.  It seems that being a vegetarian as a woman is accepted; however, being a vegetarian as a man is seen as unmanly.  Simply because a man does not eat meat, he is no longer a man.  This itself shows how strong of a relationship has been built between meat and masculinity.  When meat eating is valued as a masculine activity, we not only devalue women but also males who choose to be vegetarians.  I feel like we place entirely too much emphasis on meat and how it makes men big and strong.  Carol Adams conveys many good points that express the sexual politics associated with meat eating. 

   This association of meat and masculinity can be seen in pop culture today.  Many commercials surrounding the very manly sport of football convey this relationship of meat and masculinity perfectly.  

I liked this picture, because it conveys Adams message in her book very well.

Manly men are supposed to eat meat! 

May I Take Your Order?

Fast food has become a major part of the American culture.  Everyone I know eats fast food at least once a week, if not more! I think fast food has become such a major part of life simply because we live such fast paced lives.  I know that as a college student it is much easier to swing by McDonalds or Chick-fil-A, instead of taking the time to cook a meal. Not only is fast food convenient, but it is also super cheap, which also appeals to many people. The mindset of many people is, why would you go out and buy a bunch of food that you have to cook when you could go to the drive through at a fast food restaurant and get a full meal and drink for about 5 dollars (depending on where you are and what you get).  When you think of it from this perspective, there is nothing wrong with fast food.  But have we considered all of the perspectives? What about the people who work in these fast food restaurants? 

After watching Fast Food Women, a 1992 film discussing the lives of women working in fast food restaurants in Kentucky, I have begun to take into account the lives of these fast food workers.  Not to be rude, but when I go to a fast food restaurant, I never consider the person serving me the food. I never stop to think, who is this person? Do they have a family? How much do they get paid?  NONE of this has ever come to my mind while I was ordering food from McDonalds.  While that seems awful to think, it is something that we all do.  Yes they are people, but when it comes down to it they are simply giving us our food and that is all we care about.  We do not take the time to pay attention to their name or even their face, because this would take more time than we have.  We are simply there to get our food and keep moving.  

Another major point that the film makes is that most of these workers are women. I have never noticed how many women work in the fast food industry until watching this film.  Another thing that I noticed in this film was the older women working in this environment.  When I think of fast food employees, high schoolers and college students are the main people that pop into my mind.  The women interviewed in this film were older women who planned to temporarily work in fast food for income until their unemployed husbands were able to find work.  These women were living in a coal mining region, and their husbands were unable to find work in the mines; therefore, many of these women, ended up permanently working in the fast food industry, because it was the only source of income that they had.  

When you think about it, these women have an extremely hard life.  Their work does not stop when they clock out, because they still have families at home to take care of, a house to clean, and meals to cook.  In Deborah Barndt’s, On the Move for Food: Three Women Behind the Tomato’s Journey, she says, “ While women’s participation in paid work outside the home has become necessary and thus more accepted, domestic chores have not lightened and remain a female domain” (p. 135).  These women work hard to bring the tomatoes to the grocery stores.  Barndt reveals how these women are paid low wages for hard labor and are still expected to go home and continue to do all of the house work.  Just like everyone else the women in Barndt’s article and the women in Fast Food Women have families and bills to worry about, but they also are put in harsh conditions and make less money than the average person.  

Before watching this film, I honestly felt like the fast food industry was probably a very easy job.  Now that I have seen the “behind the scenes,” I can tell that it is a demanding and dangerous (at times) job.  One woman that was interviewed talks of all the scars she has from being burned.  Another woman talks of how she goes home feeling like grease is dripping off of her.  Their feet hurt from standing on hard surfaces for such long hours.  Would you want to work in these conditions for such low wages? I know I wouldn’t.

In Fast Food Women, all of the management that was interviewed were males.  The higher paying jobs are all taken by men.  Is this a coincidence? I don’t think so.  The men have the jobs with good pay and good benefits.  The women are stuck with the harder work and lower pay. They also have no hope of any advancement in this industry.  Many of the women interviewed had been working in the same fast food restaurant for years, and they still did not get an advancement.  

When it comes to individualism and creativity in the fast food industry, there is none! Fast food workers are supposed to act a certain way, say certain things, dress a certain way, and make food a certain way.  It is almost as if the fast food workers are made into robots of the company they work for.  While they are at work, they are expected to do just as the company tells them. 

While I feel that the film, Fast Food Women, was very informative, there were some things that could have been better. It seems like they only picked women that felt a certain way and were are in the same situation.  I feel that it would have made the film better if they would have had a more variety of people in the film.  But in the end both Barndt and the Fast Food Women show the hard work that these women put in, just to be unfairly paid in the end.  

When I started googling images for fast food workers, many images popped up showing fast food workers on strike for higher pay.  I guess this is a major issue throughout the world.