“Your Diet Defines Who You Are, Especially as a Man”

Masculinity in Online Media Focused on Healthy Eating for Men

Bibliographic Data

ID21748901
AuthorsRuby Jelicich (University of Auckland), Braun (0000-0002-3435-091X, University of Auckland, corresponding author)
Year2023
Volume17
Issue6
Pages15579883231213588-15579883231213588
Publication date2023-11-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAmerican Journal of Men s Health (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1557-9883 • E-ISSN: 1557-9891
PublisherSAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/15579883231213588
PMID38130065
OpenAlexW4390109816
LanguageEN
References cited72

In contexts marked by neoliberal ideology and a claimed “crisis” in men’s health, men are responsibilized to be/come healthy. Eating has long been a gendered practice in Western cultures, and recent cultural shifts have produced ways of eating that are both masculinized and (claimed) healthy. Online healthy eating advice, which encourages and supports men to eat healthily, is an important information source. However, such information draws on, reproduces, and/or disrupts existing meanings about men and eating. To understand contemporary representations of men and healthy eating, we examined 30 online media articles oriented specifically to this topic. Using reflexive thematic analysis from a social constructionist position, we developed two themes: A lad’s looks and lifestyle and Mind over matter: The masculine mindset. These themes together told an overarching story that healthy eating is effectively sold to men by drawing on traditional or hegemonic ideals of masculinity and effectively evoking access to an enhanced masculinity through healthy eating. While these representational practices may sell healthy eating to men, with likely positive health benefits, they also reinforce hegemonic ideals of masculinity which can be problematic from a health perspective

Eating disorders · Hegemonic masculinity · Ideology · Masculinity · Mindset · Politics · Qualitative research · Reflexivity · Situational ethics · Social media · Social science · Sociology · Thematic analysis · Clinical Psychology · Eating Disorders and Behaviors · Gender Roles and Identity Studies · Gender Studies · Media, Gender, and Advertising · Psychology · Social Psychology

Tools

Open DOIOpen Access