Another driver is the sheer addictability of fat/salt/sugar rich diets.
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Or maybe it’s none of our business how other people eat and we shouldn’t judge people for what they choose as food. That feels much more “grown up” to me than telling other people how they should eat.
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I’m sure there are plenty of women who eat like that. It’s a good subject for another piece, but that’s not what this article is about. This is about societal norms that foster and excuse and enable this behaviour in males while completely stigmatising women who behave the same way.
From what women I date tell me, yes. The story of a man showing up to a first date in a sports jersey or a clearly unwashed graphic t-shirt and shorts (in one case camo shorts) is one I’ve heard over and over again (accompanied by amazement that I managed to dress nicely and – this is a related area – wash up for the date).
And really, I’m no metrosexual exemplar in any of these departments. Going back to the main topic, my dietary repertoire is still somewhat limited, although not to these extremes. I’ve just learned that self-care benefits me in a number of ways, so I make the effort (which also reminds me that eating relatively healthy is pleasurable).
I mean, eat what you like, but don’t think the produce-free, microwaved and fast-food diet you ate at 11 or 12 is sustainable when you’re age 40+.
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I’ve met ladies that were also picky eaters but i do think that overall men tend to be picky, as you said it usually tends to be because their parents or moms cater to their tastes. I myself was a notoriously picky child but by the time i moved out and was on my own i really wanted to explore new foods but also at the time i was very poor and i had to eat whatever i could get so i couldn’t afford to by choosy, these days there’s very little i won’t eat.
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It may be flaggable to mention eating disorders on the subject of disordered eating because… shrugs … this subject is particularly contentious. Still there’s only the thinnest diaphanous line between picky eating and disordered eating and I’m vaguely aware that shaming and degrading people doesn’t help them much.
*editing and moving because this post wasn’t meant as a reply
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What adult man regularly drinks chocolate milk with his meals?
Define “regularly”.
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i know a woman who won’t eat vegetables, particularly anything green. i keep trying to get her to broaden her palate, but it’s very hard. so it’s not only guys – i think guys are just more prevalent and ok with their dietary habits.
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I strongly suspect the world would be a better place if we spent less time worrying about other people’s diets, and indeed, worrying about our own diets. I am pretty sure that worrying about diet pretty much always leads to some degree of eating disorder.
That being said, in the case of some of these stereotypcial men, I suspect it is not the result of those notorious permissive parents that are usually ascribed to be the root of all evils, but more likely the result of parents overly diet-policing. Once you can get out from under mom’s control, you can eat as many cookies as you want! So there! Willy Wonka syndrome really.
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And there’s certainly no reason at all to grow out of that, amirite?
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Maybe we can keep our opinions out of other peoples’ food choices?
The tone is mocking and derogatory at best, and sexist at worst.
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I’m sure there are plenty of women who eat like that. It’s a good subject for another piece, but that’s not what this article is about. This is about societal norms that foster and excuse and enable this behaviour in males while completely stigmatising women who behave the same way.
In case it wasn’t clear, I’m disputing that this is a gendered thing. As someone who’s had a friend die from anorexia (ok, complications stemming thereof) I don’t think eating disorders are funny. Not even when it’s men who suffer from them.
Seriously, try posting an article titled Women who eat like little girls on bb and see what comments come your way.
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I don’t think overly picky eaters are limited to men. My sister in law basically never ate any sort of “foreign” food prior to her marriage and was pretty much a stereotypical “meat and potatoes” sort of person. My brother has tried to introduce her to Chinese, Vietnamese, and other cuisines, and to her credit she won’t refuse to eat it, although she still has a very limited tolerance for any sort of spice.
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Yep. Consider folks on the spectrum for whom eating and food selection can be a difficult task.
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I have a pretty standard lecture I give regularly on “far easier to develop good dietary habits when you are young than break bad habits when you get old,” but an awful lot of the dads i see who have piss poor diets fall into this wierd mindset that somehow veggies and seafood (other than fried shrimp) are feminine and if you eat anything but meat and potatoes you just ain’t manly enough. It’s a strange thing, but very widespread, at least around here.
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You really dont think there are any generalizable, socially induced differences in western society between the unhealthy ways that some women eat, and the unhealthy ways men tend to eat?
If you really think that, I’d guess you don’t know all that many women and men.
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