Soy and plant-based diets are said to weaken the mind and body. And men, the soy boys, lose their masculinity
The Urban Dictionary defines a "soy boy" as a man who completely lacks all masculine attributes and characteristics. This condition is then brought about through the use of emasculating products or ideologies. Typically, however, it refers to the consumption of soy products, which are said to negatively affect the male physique and also the libido. The average 'soy boy' is therefore, according to the originators of the term, an unathletic feminist who is so desperate in relationships that he is likely to marry the first girl he sleeps with. And soy boys are also said to have a specific soy-smile (whatever that means)...
Nutritional myth
While the very theory of how soy strips men of their masculinity may seem far-fetched at first glance, there are claims within the argument that this legume contains compounds known as isoflavones. These are somewhat similar to a form of the female sex hormone oestrogen, which is 'key' to the development of secondary sex characteristics in women, including, for example, breast growth. Consequently, theories have emerged that men consuming soy products seem to be directly sterilised by them and lose their virility as a result. Not to mention the fact that a strong man only consumes proper flak (and drinks cow's milk) and not any alternative substitutes.
However, the claim that soy deprives men of their masculinity needs to be set straight. According to the available studies, isoflavones not only do not increase estrogen in men's bodies, but they do not contribute to lowering estrogen levels so that the resulting condition can lead to male feminization (including the acquisition of feminine features and perhaps the much-maligned breast growth). This is also true for the male population, which consumes soy products at higher levels.
Plant-based diets weaken the body and mind?
Yet the myth of soy's negative effect on "manhood" persists. And there are even those who go so far as to theorize about the effects of soy consumption, claiming that "it is the silent killer of masculinity" and that "the world is losing an entire generation of young men" because of soy consumption. This is not a theory that just came out of thin air, popularly speaking.
Disrupted masculinity has been associated with plant-based diets for quite a long time, and the roots of this thesis can be found in 19th century Asian colonialism - at the time, all local male inhabitants were labelled as physically and intellectually weak - and therefore tied to many feminine traits, which was in direct contradiction to how archetypal Western masculinity was portrayed. Plant-based diets were thus classically associated with Asian and non-white cultures in particular, and indeed plants as a major part of the diet were assumed to weaken the mind and body and de facto masculinity. This has also been demonstrated in the past by the fact that meat-eating peoples are more aggressive than those whose diet is predominantly or exclusively plant-based.
Milk (and dairy products) makes manly bodies
Promoting body and muscle growth - all of this is classically associated with milk. Countless different marketing campaigns to promote its consumption have been based on exactly this principle. And so it's actually no wonder that something called "dairy masculinity" has developed. Yet it must be said that this is mostly a masculinity associated with white men - not because anyone today wants to fight another multicultural battle, but simply because humans are the only mammals who regularly drink milk of any other kind. However, this so-called lactase persistence is by no means inherent in everyone, with about 65% of the world's population (especially outside Europe) lacking it. Cow's milk is therefore symbolically associated with Europe and the West, whereas plant milk - soya milk in particular - is associated with Asian cultures. And also "thanks" to this, milk has even become a symbol of the so-called alt-right movement, and milk is essentially the basis for hyper-masculinity.
Soy as a world evil...
While all of the above can be analyzed from many sides and countless other connections can be sought (and there are undoubtedly those who would say that to examine the influence of soy on masculinity is simply "spiderweb"), the truth is that the term soy boy has become ingrained in many people's vocabularies. Although as a pejorative term, soy boy is rather ridiculous at first glance, lived experience shows that it has long since been divorced from soy consumption per se.
Indeed, soy boy is a new metaphor for (in the eyes of some) weak and effeminate men who have - in the words of alt-right supporters - "traded their testicles for a womb". But in terms of the increasingly discussed crisis of masculinity, this is not surprising; the expression of the feminine side of men is still not found among men. But if you don't want to earn the label of soy boy (or even be one of the fighters for white male supremacy), you'd better put...powdered cream in your coffee today.
