Sexual Differences in Vegans
- December 2010
- Vegan
Hi Steph, whats up?
Ok let’s get this out of the way right off the bat: yes, I will marry you.
Glad we got that sorted, now lets get down to brass tacks:
I am from Vancouver, BC and as such I have been climbing and riding around some pretty gnarly people in my life. You are definitely in my books as being super gnarly, and as it says on your website you also seem to be a vegan. Being from the Vancouver area I also have met a lot of vegans in my life. What really fascinates me is that the male vegans tend to be a certain way; distracted, pale, shy, prone to illness, while the female vegans are more often vibrant, fit, energetic, and, well, gnarly.
Biological and dietary differences aside, what do you, Steph Davis, a cultural icon and an inspiration to millions, see as the sociological reasons and the fallout of these kinds of sexual differences in vegans? Are timid, thin men more prone to veganism or are men who don’t eat enough protein and iron rich foods more prone to become timid and thin? Are women who eat no animal proteins and lots of veggies more prone to fit bods and keen brains or would those same women be the way they are regardless of diet?
I am a meat eater and I know that if I don’t eat enough meat in a day I feel hungry and weak regardless of what alternatives proteins I have. I even find that I can taste the absence of animal proteins in food that I know usually have them and I don’t prefer that. I know I am not the only one who feels this way, so is this biological or cultural? Do I only believe I can taste the difference and that it makes me feel weak, or do us fellas really need those aminos?
Of course there are exceptions, and I’m sure I have met gnarly vegan dudes and probably some frail vegan ladies too, but I can’t think of an example of either and that is part of what makes me so interested in why this difference exists.
Thanks for taking the time to read all of this, I’m interested to hear your thoughts.
Keep givin’r for the vegans out there and stay gnarly!
Scott
Dear Scott,
Thanks a lot for the marriage proposal! It might be nice to meet you first, though… 😉
Reading your email naturally made me ask myself about gnarly vegan climber (dudes). Of course, the first one who came to mind is Doug Scott, the legendary high altitude mountaineer, though I recall reading him described as “vegetarian.”
Jimmie Dunn has been a vegan forever, and is also definitely gnarly.
Obviously I’m not a big fan of violence, but these guys all look pretty gnarly to me too.
And then there’s perhaps THE greatest (and shiniest) athlete of all time, a lifelong vegan….
So, I don’t know!
Maybe all the vegan guys you meet find you somehow intimidating, and get all distracted and shy and pale around you? Whereas you have the opposite effect on the girls?
🙂 Steph
From my experience, one has no bearing on the other. I will say though, I find that more effeminate men (as opposed to the frail and pale, or timid and thin adjectives) that don’t have the vibrant golden color of avid beachgoers, for some reason, seem to be more attracted to the vegan lifestyle. Perhaps there is a connection or reason behind this, and maybe it is coincidence; it is entirely possible that the latter is the case. This is what you alluded to earlier Scott when you said “are timid, thin men more prone to veganism”.
I’m reasonably sure that it has been scientifically proven that animal flesh is not required to remain virile, masculine and muscular. Conversely, it is also fact that the aforementioned aminos and plentiful protein found in meat make it physically easier to become and remain so. Like Steph, I know some pretty badass vegans of the male variety.
Veganism is a lifestyle choice with very valid and commendable foundations, and if someone is “pale and frail” because of it, then it certainly does not make them lesser persons; quite the opposite.
As with any other aspect of intellectual human behavior, such as love, friendship, and yes, eating habits, the issue (and indeed the only one) by which people should measure each other, if at all, is by how much we are willing to sacrifice for what we believe in, other people, and of course the creatures with which we share the Earth.
There’s my 2+ cents. Sorry for the run-on sentence, but you get the point.
Well, let’s see: I’m a vegan climber, I’m not shy, definitely not pale, in the last 1.5 years I’ve only seen a doctor because of a climbing injury and a poison ivy reaction, and I’m typically the guy that wants to go night bouldering after a whole day of climbing so I think my energy level is pretty OK. So yeah, based on my own empirical evidence you’re way off, dude. 🙂
I think we’re only prone to stinky feet due to the use of synthetic-leather climbing shoes, but that’s about it.
Isn’t that a picture of Dougal?
Sorry, my era.
nice! i’m not sure, i found it in a google search for Doug Scott…how about the one on the main page, in the storm?
You should know this image of Dougal Haston walking the ridge close to the Everest summit in 1975, famous ascent!
i can’t help but feel that this was a completely wasted opportunity for a trivia contest.. !
Photo was taken by the resilliant Mr. Doug Scott. They Bivied at the South Summit where Doug had an interesting conversation with is feet due to lack of oxygen. More telling of his will to live and inner strength is his crawl off The Ogre with 2 broken legs!
Bring on the trivia, Steph.
wow!
Brent and Francois! the Truck Camping Tips picture is just for you! Name that climber….
Two things I just couldn’t live without: 1. A rope and 2. A steak.
Surprised to learn through your pages that Jimmie Dunn is a long-term vegan or at least vegetarian. But I find it reassuring to know that Peter Croft is kind of a “foodie”…if you go read some of his early Canadian Alpine Journal articles (Bugaboos, Stuart Range, Squamish, etc.), it’s fascinating to note that he never lists a grade, but carefully itemizes every scrap of food he consumes in the course of a day.
Will try buy a copy of your book. It appears on Amazon for $16.95 — no wonder you can’t afford to eat meat .-)
Cheers!
Postscript:
Also…you’re kind of a bad ass. In a good way.
“I even find that I can taste the absence of animal proteins in food that I know usually have them”
lmfao, that’s ridiculous. Â it’s called pyschological.