An exploration of the idea that tangible change can be made in the world when norms are unsettled rather than reinforced or left untouched. Bloom focuses on creating a space for the individual to re-define the outdated, toxic view of masculinity to explore what men can be. This is tied into questioning what food can be — now and in the future.
Is substitution a solution? Sure, plant based animal product substitutes do seemingly make it easier for western consumers to reduce their meat consumption, which will inevitably contribute to lessening the suffering of animals and the destruction of the planet. However, this practice of replication could still be fuelling deeply ingrained myths such as that men need meat, therefore strength and power to maintain their ‘manliness’, or dominance in society.
So might a truly sustainable, social + environmental, food transformation happen when we move out of the norm and our preferences are shifted…
‘the day someone designs a steak that tastes like a carrot’?
(Wilson, 2019)
The Bloom Box is a different take on the traditional ‘recipe box’. Instead of being a place to exchange and store recipes, it is a space for a collection of first-hand narratives to share with others, to open up conversations and spark inspiration. In the real world, you would find it where people gather to eat, make food or even work out: social environments where these norms can be intrinsically challenged.
(scroll though contextual images above)
The ‘recipe dividers’ are designed based on thoughts from collaborators with whom I have been discussing the overlapping themes of gender and consumption, or more specifically masculinity and plant based food, over the past 10 weeks. These are people primarily who have diets which aim to cut down on meat and animal products, from a range of cultures within the Global North.
In the digital realm of this exhibition, you are invited to interact by adding your own ‘recipe card’ to the Bloom Box. Scroll through and get inspiration from any of these dividers or existing cards.
(see below)
…then redefining them for myself. For me it’s normal to be sensitive towards other beings. I don’t feel like any living creature (including animals and people) should suffer so I could eat. It’s not so much about being powerful, but more feeling for others. Which is totally masculine in my definition because why shouldn’t I feel for others just because I define myself as a man. — thoughts from Chris
… The kind of people who look to criticise others on those grounds, are usually criticising on other grounds as well. I often find the kinds of people that would comment on me not eating meat are the same kind of people that would be uncomfortable with me having long hair and painted nails because ultimately their masculinity is fragile as fuck. — thoughts from Sam
… that exerting your physical power over a woman… is starting to be seen by men as a negative behaviour, as opposed to a way to earn respect, or display masculinity. Sadly, such a shift is far from reality, but I believe there is positive change in motion at least. For those individuals who are beholden to masculine conceptions of self, it needs to be woven into like the concept of “good” masculinity that you respect women. That’s a very rosy picture of the world but the point I’m trying to make is that altering conceptions of masculinity rather than quashing it is a possible route to change. Even though it might be preferable for society at large, for many men, it can be quite destabilising to have your masculinity stripped from you, especially if it’s the only thing that’s brought value to someone’s sense of identity their whole life. Maybe, the route to lower meat consumption is not men detaching from masculine conceptions of self, but to introduce narratives that present a plant-based diet as aligning with masculinity. — thoughts from Sam
… is what helped me understand the problem with meat consumption. I think right now men don’t have that relationship, it’s very distorted. We feel that we need to dominate the earth and dominate all living things that live on it. The current education system doesn’t allow us to investigate the more subtle layers of our being, which means understanding the feminine and the masculine. My family originally came from India, Punjab however when they came over to the West they adopted the western conditions. I was heavily influenced by my uncles to go to the gym in order to bulk up and as a result misinformed that the only way this was possible was by eating meat. I would look around the dining table at what the other male were eating and thought it was the right thing to do in order to be a ‘man’. — thoughts from Raj
… I don’t think 20 years ago men would worry as much, as obviously women is like a next level, but for men there’s definitely a body image issue. I personally experienced that when I was younger I just felt that I need to go gym because I was alright at rugby and that’s all I’m good for. I’d be like how do I get bigger or do this or that, so you start searching into certain things. And nutrition is like a massive thing, I mean there’s a whole market for vegan nutrition and I find that stressful anyway. There’s a lot of pressure on young men to look good and be as big as they can, and I think meat eating in society, or at least the marketing targets that anxiety really well. — thoughts from Louis
… means pulling away from even defining myself as masculine. I am both masculine and feminine. I have both energies. If I say what masculine should be or what feminine should be again I’m just separating and creating two separate ideologies, but it’s about just being able to see the oneness in everything. There is no set prescribed way that I should be behaving as a guy, and just like there’s no prescribed set way a woman should be behaving. When we do that we muddy the waters. — thoughts from Raj
— Thoughts from Sam
… before I actually researched about it and tried being vegan. What you’re told when you’re working out and going to the gym by guys who go to the gym and are ‘masculine’ and strong, is that if you want to look like that [as a man] you should be eating things like chicken and rice or a big steak or a big hamburger for your meals if you want to gain muscle. If you want to lose weight and lose muscle, you go and eat a salad, you know like salads are for women that want to lose weight. That’s the conception of masculinity and animals. If you want to be male and strong and big you have to eat animals… that’s the conception that I completely disagree with. — thoughts from Guille
… You do hear people say that, you know if you’re eating like a steak or a chicken breast they’re like oh you need to eat that now so you’ll be big and strong. But I’d say the biggest time or biggest influence of my life would be when I was 18 and I was breaking into the senior team for Irish sports, hurling and gaelic football, where you can see they make you eat as much meat or protein as you can. So nutritionists who would be involved in the teams or your gym instructor, they’d be encouraging you to eat about 120 or 140 grammes of protein a day… I was trying to bulk up to break into the team. There is a lot of pressure to reach those goals and to fill out your muscular shape. It’s mainly the players who are big and have some skills who get picked. — thoughts from Luke
There will always be men to whom a certain kind of “stereotypical masculine behaviour” is important, just as there will always be women to whom a certain kind of “stereotypical feminine behaviour” is also important. I might not agree with them, but hey, whatever rocks their boat, as long as they don’t create a toxic environment. And I think both roles are somehow rooted in a display of power. There isn’t a better power trip than choosing compassion. — thoughts from Ivan
… I suppose masculinity can mean different things, but I see it as a cult from my experience. I suppose because it’s like a way of thinking and a way of regulating or governing your own behaviours. I’d describe it as sort of a downward pressure on you to behave in certain ways and restrain you in certain ways. Also restraining others of course, like women and people who don’t conform heteronormativity with and other traditions. — thoughts from Louis
So I try to get it out of my language, for example to say “oh, look, this is masculine” and “this is feminine”. As I would identify as a man right now, I would say there are things that are masculine for me, but are not for others. So it’s kind of like my own construct I’ve built for myself so I could identify as a man. Like personal things I define masculine for myself, but I won’t tell others that is masculine or feminine, because that only works for myself and maybe not for others. It just helps me to define myself as a person. Things that I wished society would acknowledge as ok for men as well. — thoughts from Chris
… I still find I often end up feeling the need to defend myself, despite the fact that I am confident, and confident in my masculinity. So it doesn’t surprise me in the slightest that people would be, and particularly men would be, ambivalent to eat less meat, or indeed to do anything that has more feminine connotations. That’s because to do so is perceived as a threat to one’s masculinity. It’s like, you know, how does a man see himself? As long as his sense of purpose in the world and sense of belonging is defined by his masculinity, and as long as his conception of what masculinity means is attached to all these problematic things, then we’ve got an issue. — thoughts from Sam
