Are more queer people vegan?
A survey by The Vegan Society in 2016 found that 63 per cent of vegans in the UK identify as women. But what about the relationship between veganism and sexuality? Are more queer people vegan?
In the US, 79 per cent of vegans are women, and academics have theorised that ideas surrounding toxic masculinity can make it more difficult for men to go plant-based than women.
This is worsened by the number of men who work in professions that harm animals, slaughterhouses and factory farms included. One study conducted across 12 pig slaughterhouses in Columbia found that 92.4 per cent of workers were men.
And so-called ‘traditional masculinity’ includes homophobia and misogyny, notions which, of course, the LGBTQ+ community rejects.
Likewise, traditional masculinity also incorporates emotional distancing, something which could explain the pushback from macho men on animal liberation.
We’re all aware of the cliché that so many LGBTQ+ people are vegan or vegetarian, and one study by Curve found that out of 925 responses to a poll in one UK vegan Facebook group, 66.4 per cent remarked that they were also LGBTQ+.
Elsewhere, one study conducted by Grazer, a matchmaking app that helps vegans and vegetarians to find one another, found that 11.6 per cent of its users identify as non-heterosexual women and 8 per cent as non-heterosexual men.
Though only 3.2 per cent of people in the UK identify as gay, lesbian or bisexual, 22 per cent of Grazer’s users say they are queer. Correlation doesn’t always mean causation, as there are plenty of LGBTQ+ people that aren’t vegan or veggie, but it comes as no surprise that many queer people don’t agree with the exploitation of animals.
There might not be too much concrete data on the relationship between veganism and LGBTQ+ identity, but the idea that peace starts on your plate seemingly isn’t so radical a concept for many queer people.
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