# Animalizing women and feminizing (vegan) men > https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2023-32330-001 https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2023-32330-001 Animalizing women and feminizing (vegan) men: The psychological intersections of [sexism](https://wiki.g15e.com/pages/Sexism.txt), , , and . ## Abstract > Images of sexualized women depicted as animals or alongside meat are routinely used in advertising in Western culture. Philosophers and feminist scholars have long theorized that such imagery reflects the lower status of both women and animals (vs. men) in society and argued that prejudiced attitudes towards women (i.e., [sexism](https://wiki.g15e.com/pages/Sexism.txt)) and animals (i.e., [speciesism](https://wiki.g15e.com/pages/Speciesism.txt)) are interconnected, with meat-eating as a core symbol of . Addressing these key ideas from , we review the psychological evidence on the associations between sexism, speciesism, meat, and masculinity. Research on the animalistic [dehumanization](https://wiki.g15e.com/pages/Dehumanization.txt) of women provides evidence that sexism and speciesism are psychologically entangled and rooted in desires for group-based dominance and inequality. Furthermore, research on the symbolic value of meat corroborates its masculine value expressing dominance and power, and suggests that men who abstain from meat consumption (e.g., vegans) are feminized and devalued, particularly by those higher in sexism. We conclude that a greater recognition of the interconnected nature of and practices of animal exploitation, including meat-eating, can help in efforts to improve the status of both women and animals.