Meat, Masculinity, and Health for the “Typical Aussie Bloke”: A Social Constructivist Analysis of Class, Gender, and Consumption

Abstract

Food choice is complex and influenced by a range of social, environmental, structural, and individual factors. Poor diet is one of the major contributors to the burden of disease, in particular for men who habitually have lower intakes of fruits and vegetables and higher intakes of meat. Food choice has been linked to the expression of masculine identities. This research used a Bourdieusian framework to explore the influential drivers of young Australian men’s eating habits based on occupational groupings. Twenty men aged 19–30 years participated in in-depth semistructured interviews. Analysis used a grounded theory, social constructivist approach and identified five themes: performative masculinities and meat; meat cuts across social class; the influence of masculine autonomy on dietary choice; women protecting Australian men’s health; and the role of environmental and structural barriers. These results indicated that habitus remains a useful conceptual framework to explain the results, and cultural capital is reinforced as a phenomenon. Occupation and gender appear to no longer be primary drivers of food choice in this group of men. Rather there is a shift toward an understanding of multiple masculinities and the development of microcultures with interactions between structure and agency. Meat still features in the food world of Australian men, but there are shifts to deprioritize its importance. There needs to be a more nuanced understanding of the importance of autonomy and control as well as the role of women in relation to men’s dietary intakes and how this can be harnessed for positive dietary change.