Why are more women into nature/vegetarians? (men, woman, parent)

[rishi851]

This is something I notice a lot.
I read a daily English newspaper called the dailymail which is filled with animal abuse stories. Almost 80% of the comments are made by women. Go to most animal abuse stories in the news and check the comments section- I bet the majority is made by women.
I used to volunteer at an animal shelter in Toronto and again, almost all the visitors were girls. The majority of the volunteers were girls(which was such an incentive). I go to yoga and meditation classes, check them on meetup and it is usually filled with women.
Finally the issue of vegetarians- again I will place a bet and go so far as to say perhaps 80% of all vegans will be women, just check any of the vegerptarian pages on facebook.

Anyone wonder why this is so? Is it something biological- empathy and kindness. But how does that explain yoga and meditation which are connected to spiritual angles?
Does being in nature bring about something of a spiritual sensation in you?
I am just trying to understand the psychological application here, especially of the western society.

I am an East Indian. I participate in archery not for competition but for meditation.
I am a vegetarian and have been made fun of being one by my white male friends, never by females.
It's as if I am a man with feminine tendencies from what I observe!

[Tall Traveler]

I think the reasons are:
1) Mod cut.
2) women by nature want to be thin and think (perhaps correctly) that less meat = more thin. Men want to be strong and think meat promotes that more than vegetables.
3)many men think vegan lifestyle is for women and sissies
4) testosterone gets in the way of empathy

[PJSaturn]

Thread moved from Nature to Psychology forum.
.

[plmokn]

Originally Posted by rishi851

I will place a bet and go so far as to say perhaps 80% of all vegans will be women

1.4% of men are vegan, 1.3% of women.

from

What Percentage of the Population is Vegetarian?

[mordant]

I think this is a selection bias. We don't know that men aren't a silent majority in this picture.

Women do have maternal instincts that tend to make them want to kiss boo-boos and men in may parts of the world have misplaced macho tendencies that make them hide whatever feminine energy they might possess. They also want to Solve The Problem, not make people feel better, so the may see no percentage in fawning over this or that situation. They want to take action.

These are just some alternative suggestions, there are many others.

I saw a video of dogs being skinned alive in China. One of those dogs, just after being skinned, looked plaintively at the camera and then dropped dead. His face conveyed so much pain and betrayal and confusion. I am a man and yet I can't shake that image. Like many men I retreat to my man-cave and brood rather than talk talk talk. Talking makes it worse for me, it makes it better for many women. Vive la difference. Perhaps that as much as anything explains why more commenters about such things are women.

[MikeNigh]

I don't think women are vegetarian more often than men.

[imcurious]

I believe women attain or just happen to have "higher consciousness" than men in greater numbers . . . Don't know why - might have to do with giving birth and nurturing newborn infants.

[Tall Traveler]

What is it with women trying to censor anything they don't like. My post that was censored was just bointing out what is a biological fact that women think both with the right and left brain at the same time and men do not...it's biological. I like the opinions in CD but not the constant censorship of everything power hungry people might not like almost exclusively by women. I'm looking for alternative message board, tired of the political corrrectness run amok.

[Sugah Ray]

It's probably cultural. Some here are even stating the numbers are equal, maybe men are less open about it. My personal experience is that both men and women are equally empathetic. It depends on the individual, men are just less open about their feelings but their actions put them usually at the same level as women.

Western men are taught from an early age to be tough, not to show their feelings. When men show sensitive sides that they think are unnacepable by our society, many feels shame and fear that they will be rejected. Their whole integrity and value is at stake. They feel this way because their parents, teachers (and later their peers) rejected them when they didn't behave like tough kids.

This is flawed thinking but it is not easy to overcome those fears. As a woman I even have a hard time letting others see my vulnerable side, I can only imagine how difficult it must be for a western man.

[maus]

Originally Posted by MikeNigh

I don't think women are vegetarian more often than men.

I meet more women who talk about being vegan than men do. Maybe Western men would rather talk about other things anyway (generally speaking).

I know of more men who are vegan because of personal health reasons than because of the many political reasons. Just a wild guess, I think the numbers of people world-wide being vegetarian is probably a slightly higher percentage of women than men are.