Open AccessRacialized Perceptions of Vegetarianism: Stereotypical Associations That Undermine Inclusion in Eating Behaviors
Author(s) -
Daniel L. Rosenfeld,
Tiffany N. Bran,
A. Janet Tomiyama
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
personality and social psychology bulletin
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.584
H-Index - 193
eISSN - 1552-7433
pISSN - 0146-1672
DOI - 10.1177/01461672221099392
Subject(s) - belongingness , race (biology) , psychology , feeling , social psychology , perception , inclusion (mineral) , developmental psychology , gender studies , sociology , neuroscience
Shifting societal eating patterns toward a vegetarian diet offers promise for improving public health and environmental sustainability. Yet concerns exist about racial disparities in inclusion, as some sentiments suggest that vegetarianism is stereotypically associated with Whiteness. Through four studies (total N = 3,234), we investigated associations U.S. adults hold between race and vegetarianism, along with implications for behavior change and belongingness among Black individuals. Participants, across racial backgrounds, strongly associated vegetarianism with Whiteness, both explicitly and implicitly. A race prime led Black participants to report lower interest in becoming a vegetarian, whereas a prime of race-vegetarianism associations decreased Black participants' feelings of belongingness in the vegetarian community. Exposure to racially inclusive messaging about vegetarianism, meanwhile, increased belongingness among Black participants. These findings provide the first quantitative insights into racial stereotypes about vegetarianism and pose future directions for theory, research, and practice at the intersections of race and eating behavior.