I am hardly in a position to throw out numbers about the statistics of the cultural break-down of vegetarianism - I really only have the people I have known and my experiences. I just tried to Google-fu some actual statistics about culture break-down, but couldn't find anything except for general numbers about how many vegetarians total there are in the US. And that women vegetarians outnumber male about 70/30.
In fact, I've had the unique experience of knowing a number of male vegetarians, which is amazing since common stereotyping puts vegetarians as nearly completely a woman's fad. When I was in elementary school, the only other vegetarian in my age group was a boy in my class. I've known a few in college, both students and educators, and I work with a male vegetarian presently.
I can't admit to knowing any Korean vegetarians, or any other eastern Asian vegetarians (I am actually afraid of traveling to east Asia because I have heard such strange and horrible food stories, and I'm sure I'd just eat pre-packaged granola bars the entire time). My doctor was Asian Indian and I've known a few other vegetarians who are also Asian Indian, though they were rather reserved about their diet for the most part, and rarely talked about it. Actually, I've found that vegetarians who are so for religious reasons on the whole are not that vocal about it, perhaps because they see vegetarianism as a part of their religious identity, rather than an identity in itself.
I've met two black male vegetarians, back in Jersey City - one was a popular athlete and you wouldn't guess he was a vegetarian until you sat down and ate with him (he does mostly for health reasons), and the other was probably the most massive guy I've ever seen in my life and a devoted vegan who was passionate about educating people in the city about better dietary choices. My vegetarian co-worker is Mexican and became a vegetarian for ethical reasons, and he comes across considerable trouble with his family and friends because of it. Moreso than anyone else I've met, he struggles because his family thinks he is less of a man being a vegetarian, that it denotes him being too sensitive or weak to be a proper man of their family. Some of them believe he is deliberately slighting the way he was raised with his dietary choice.
I got shades of this "how dare you turn away from tradition" from my Italian family, where I remember an aunt getting very upset at me for refusing to eat her meatballs, but I think I got much more slack for it because I am a girl, and girls are allowed whims like that (nobody believes that a vegetarian is actually in it for the long-haul, btw. People think it is bound to wear off after a while). I don't think either of my brothers could have gotten away with vegetarianism because there is such pride attached to Italian men and their ability to cook hardy meaty meals for their families.
I do have a Sage-Theory as to why there seems to be a predominance of white vegetarians, and it does go back to culture. I've tried three times now to type it out and explain it, but it is long-winded and not making a lot of sense. BASICALLY it came down to whites having more of a freedom to present themselves as who they choose to be, while non-whites unfortunately are reminded of their not-whiteness often and forcibly identified by it, both within their cultural community and from exclusion from mainstream society. So I might be black and I might be a vegetarian, but it is harder for me to get the vegetarian part of my identity across with as much strength as a white person might, because people look at me and process my identity primarily as black.
Also, if you are already excluded from the mainstream in one way, then why would you want to risk excluding yourself from your smaller cultural community and family as well, and risk having nobody who supports your lifestyle choice?
There are probably a thousand other supporting reasons, with different reasons specifically for each ethnic group, but that general reason is the best one I can offer. I can't say any more without needing to do deeper research. On the other hand, I know there are people who have become vegetarians and to their joy and surprise, found ample support from their family groups to do so.
Now it might also be a matter of there just seeming to be more white vegetarians than other ethnicity, but that whites are the ones who have more freedom to speak out, or are more likely to be seen and heard. For all I know there are a million male Mexican vegetarians in my area, but they keep their heads down to avoid negative attention from their cultures and families. Plus, writers and celebrities are predominately white because mainstream media hasn't caught up with the actual cultural make-up of our country yet, so most of the vegetarian celebrities we know as household names will inevitably also be white.
I would agree that vegetarianism has something that correlates with a more educated lifestyle. I have no idea if that means to say vegetarians are more likely to come from families that encourage education and forming your own opinions, or if vegetarians come from people willing to challenge the information if they are given, or if vegetarians are simply more inquisitive and likely to try something new.
http://www.soton.ac.uk/mediacentre/news/2006/dec/06_138.shtml I found a report that says that people with higher IQs are more likely to be vegetarians. I prefer to believe that the study is horseshit because personally I don't like implying that better ethical/moral choices are tied to IQ, but I do have to agree with the higher socio-economic roots and higher education. It intrigues me too that they found that vegetarians aren't any richer or poorer than anyone else, despite a generally better educational start - I have observed that vegetarians aren't usually that ambitious in a strict business sense, and usually place more of their energy into education, health, and travel.
HI YOU GAVE ME A LOT TO TALK ABOUT, I HOPE SOME OF IT GAVE YOU SOME PERSPECTIVE, SOMEWHERE. I'm sorry I had not many hard-facts to give, and I'd probably have to do library research and something more substantial than Google-fu to figure it out.
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sforzinda
no subject
Date: 2011-04-26 07:09 am (UTC)In fact, I've had the unique experience of knowing a number of male vegetarians, which is amazing since common stereotyping puts vegetarians as nearly completely a woman's fad. When I was in elementary school, the only other vegetarian in my age group was a boy in my class. I've known a few in college, both students and educators, and I work with a male vegetarian presently.
I can't admit to knowing any Korean vegetarians, or any other eastern Asian vegetarians (I am actually afraid of traveling to east Asia because I have heard such strange and horrible food stories, and I'm sure I'd just eat pre-packaged granola bars the entire time). My doctor was Asian Indian and I've known a few other vegetarians who are also Asian Indian, though they were rather reserved about their diet for the most part, and rarely talked about it. Actually, I've found that vegetarians who are so for religious reasons on the whole are not that vocal about it, perhaps because they see vegetarianism as a part of their religious identity, rather than an identity in itself.
I've met two black male vegetarians, back in Jersey City - one was a popular athlete and you wouldn't guess he was a vegetarian until you sat down and ate with him (he does mostly for health reasons), and the other was probably the most massive guy I've ever seen in my life and a devoted vegan who was passionate about educating people in the city about better dietary choices. My vegetarian co-worker is Mexican and became a vegetarian for ethical reasons, and he comes across considerable trouble with his family and friends because of it. Moreso than anyone else I've met, he struggles because his family thinks he is less of a man being a vegetarian, that it denotes him being too sensitive or weak to be a proper man of their family. Some of them believe he is deliberately slighting the way he was raised with his dietary choice.
I got shades of this "how dare you turn away from tradition" from my Italian family, where I remember an aunt getting very upset at me for refusing to eat her meatballs, but I think I got much more slack for it because I am a girl, and girls are allowed whims like that (nobody believes that a vegetarian is actually in it for the long-haul, btw. People think it is bound to wear off after a while). I don't think either of my brothers could have gotten away with vegetarianism because there is such pride attached to Italian men and their ability to cook hardy meaty meals for their families.
I do have a Sage-Theory as to why there seems to be a predominance of white vegetarians, and it does go back to culture. I've tried three times now to type it out and explain it, but it is long-winded and not making a lot of sense. BASICALLY it came down to whites having more of a freedom to present themselves as who they choose to be, while non-whites unfortunately are reminded of their not-whiteness often and forcibly identified by it, both within their cultural community and from exclusion from mainstream society. So I might be black and I might be a vegetarian, but it is harder for me to get the vegetarian part of my identity across with as much strength as a white person might, because people look at me and process my identity primarily as black.
Also, if you are already excluded from the mainstream in one way, then why would you want to risk excluding yourself from your smaller cultural community and family as well, and risk having nobody who supports your lifestyle choice?
There are probably a thousand other supporting reasons, with different reasons specifically for each ethnic group, but that general reason is the best one I can offer. I can't say any more without needing to do deeper research. On the other hand, I know there are people who have become vegetarians and to their joy and surprise, found ample support from their family groups to do so.
Now it might also be a matter of there just seeming to be more white vegetarians than other ethnicity, but that whites are the ones who have more freedom to speak out, or are more likely to be seen and heard. For all I know there are a million male Mexican vegetarians in my area, but they keep their heads down to avoid negative attention from their cultures and families. Plus, writers and celebrities are predominately white because mainstream media hasn't caught up with the actual cultural make-up of our country yet, so most of the vegetarian celebrities we know as household names will inevitably also be white.
I would agree that vegetarianism has something that correlates with a more educated lifestyle. I have no idea if that means to say vegetarians are more likely to come from families that encourage education and forming your own opinions, or if vegetarians come from people willing to challenge the information if they are given, or if vegetarians are simply more inquisitive and likely to try something new.
http://www.soton.ac.uk/mediacentre/news/2006/dec/06_138.shtml I found a report that says that people with higher IQs are more likely to be vegetarians. I prefer to believe that the study is horseshit because personally I don't like implying that better ethical/moral choices are tied to IQ, but I do have to agree with the higher socio-economic roots and higher education. It intrigues me too that they found that vegetarians aren't any richer or poorer than anyone else, despite a generally better educational start - I have observed that vegetarians aren't usually that ambitious in a strict business sense, and usually place more of their energy into education, health, and travel.
HI YOU GAVE ME A LOT TO TALK ABOUT, I HOPE SOME OF IT GAVE YOU SOME PERSPECTIVE, SOMEWHERE. I'm sorry I had not many hard-facts to give, and I'd probably have to do library research and something more substantial than Google-fu to figure it out.