Overview
- Brings together insights from feminist and gender studies, masculinity studies, critical animal and vegan studies
- Integrates empirical and theoretical data to understand changing masculinities towards more ecological ideals
- Examines several themes in relation to men’s veganism including social relationships, mental well-being and emotions
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About this book
This book explores the potential of men’s veganism to contest unsustainable anthropocentric masculinities. Examining what it means to be a vegan man and connections between men, masculinities and veganism, it addresses exploitative human-animal relations, climate change, and social inequalities as urgent and interconnected global issues. Using conceptual insights from critical studies on men and masculinities, ecofeminism, critical animal studies and vegan studies, this book examines the potential of men’s veganism and vegan masculinities to foster more ethical, caring and sustainable ways of relating to nonhuman animals and to contribute towards more egalitarian gender relations. This book is grounded in a qualitative empirical study of the lived experiences of 61 vegan men in Northern Europe. The themes explored include men’s transition to veganism, the emotional and embodied dimensions of men’s veganism, negotiating social and intimate relationships as vegan men, and links between men’s veganism, gender equality and social justice.
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Keywords
- Care
- Climate change
- Critical animal studies
- Critical studies on men and masculinities
- Ecofeminism
- Ecological masculinities
- Feminism
- Food
- Gender
- Gender studies
- Human-animal relations
- Intersectionality
- Men and masculinities
- Nonhuman animals
- Qualitative research
- Social change
- Sociology
- Sustainability
- Vegan studies
- Veganism
Table of contents (8 chapters)
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Front Matter
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Back Matter
Reviews
“In documenting the narratives of men becoming and living as vegan, this book encourages men to consider the impact of dominant forms of masculinity on ethical and sustainable food consumption. Drawing upon ecofeminist and critical masculinities’ perspectives, this important book makes a unique contribution to the necessary transformation of anthropocentrism and carnism towards an ethic of care for non-human others and the Earth.” (Bob Pease, Honorary Professor, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Deakin University, Australia and author of Facing Patriarch)
“While there are quite a few self-help and advocacy books on men and veganism, Contesting Anthropocentric Masculinities Through Veganism is, to my knowledge, the first full-length social science analysis that is devoted to making sense of the diverse lived experiences of vegan men. Bringing together a wide range of theoretical tools – including ecofeminism, newmaterialism and posthumanism – and detailed interview material, the book examines these questions clearly, expertly and critically, yet also positively, in moving towards the possibilities for post-anthropocentric masculinities and food practices. The book is necessary reading for all concerned with gender, food, and the politics of the planet, as well as students of contemporary social change.” (Jeff Hearn, Professor, Hanken School of Economics, Finland, and author of Men of the World)
“Challenging the carnivorous stereotype inherent in conceptions of Western masculinity, Kadri Aavik’s work deconstructs the real and often complex reasons why men become vegan and how their veganism constitutes an intersectional and anti-speciesist resistance to gender norms that are confining and obsolete. Aavik’s study examines how men challenge narratives that marginalize and feminize male vegans, and, more significantly, examines how vegan men reconstitute their veganism as intersectional validation of the lives of both human women and non-human animals. (Laura Wright, Professor and Director of Graduate Studies, Western Carolina University, USA)
“While there are quite a few self-help and advocacy books on men and veganism, Contesting Anthropocentric Masculinities Through Veganism is, to my knowledge, the first full-length social science analysis that is devoted to making sense of the diverse lived experiences of vegan men. Bringing together a wide range of theoretical tools – including ecofeminism, newmaterialism and posthumanism – and detailed interview material, the book examines these questions clearly, expertly and critically, yet also positively, in moving towards the possibilities for post-anthropocentric masculinities and food practices. The book is necessary reading for all concerned with gender, food, and the politics of the planet, as well as students of contemporary social change.” (Jeff Hearn, Professor, Hanken School of Economics, Finland, and author of Men of the World)
“Challenging the carnivorous stereotype inherent in conceptions of Western masculinity, Kadri Aavik’s work deconstructs the real and often complex reasons why men become vegan and how their veganism constitutes an intersectional and anti-speciesist resistance to gender norms that are confining and obsolete. Aavik’s study examines how men challenge narratives that marginalize and feminize male vegans, and, more significantly, examines how vegan men reconstitute their veganism as intersectional validation of the lives of both human women and non-human animals. (Laura Wright, Professor and Director of Graduate Studies, Western Carolina University, USA)
Authors and Affiliations
About the author
Kadri Aavik is an Associate Professor of Gender Studies at Tallinn University, Estonia. She works in gender studies (with a focus on critical studies on men and masculinities), critical animal studies and vegan studies—and their intersections. She is co-editor of Men, Masculinities and the Modern Career: Contemporary and Historical Perspectives (2020, De Gruyter Oldenbourg), Feminist Animal and Multispecies Studies: Critical Perspectives on Food and Eating (forthcoming, Brill) and Handbook on Men, Masculinities and Organizations: Theories, Practices and Futures of Organizing (forthcoming, Routledge).
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: Contesting Anthropocentric Masculinities Through Veganism
Book Subtitle: Lived Experiences of Vegan Men
Authors: Kadri Aavik
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-19507-5
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Cham
eBook Packages: Social Sciences, Social Sciences (R0)
Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023
Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-031-19506-8Published: 04 February 2023
Softcover ISBN: 978-3-031-19509-9Published: 04 February 2024
eBook ISBN: 978-3-031-19507-5Published: 03 February 2023
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: X, 256
Topics: Gender Studies, Food Science, Veterinary Medicine/Veterinary Science, Clinical Psychology, Gender Studies, Clinical Psychology