Omnivorous Women’s Perceptions of Vegan and Vegetarian Men as a function of their Dietary Motivations

Abstract

Previous research has established that women find vegetarian and vegan men to be less desirable than their omnivorous counterparts. Historically, it has been theorized that this disparity occurs because women are attracted to gender-role-conforming, traditionally masculine men. However, there is a lack of research investigating other potential mechanisms that may impact the attractiveness of vegans and vegetarians. The current study exposed omnivorous women (N = 509) to six vignettes depicting omnivores and either vegans (n = 260), or vegetarians (n = 249), to determine whether diet is associated with perceptions of masculinity and attractiveness. Additionally, we determined whether common motivations for vegetarianism and veganism, which include animal welfare, environmental concerns, and personal health, moderate women’s ratings. We found that women perceived omnivorous men to be more attractive and masculine and were more willing to date these men relative to vegan or vegetarian men. This effect was stronger for women who were high in vegetarian threat relative to those who were low in vegetarian threat. Moreover, men who were motivated by personal health reasons (regardless of dietary preference) were perceived as more masculine. This study provides additional insight into the social perceptions of vegetarians and vegans. Keywords: Attractiveness, Masculinity, Gender Roles, Vegans, Vegetarians, Vegetarian threat, Dietary MotivationsPsychologyBachelors of Science (BS