Industry Pescatarianism
dabbling in the politics of meat
Last month I had the pleasure of hosting a dinner party for around 60 industry workers, which involved me surveying guest’s palatial preferences and allergies. It is a balancing act, making sure everyone in their diverse tastes and needs leaves the party well fed. In the whirlwind of the night after plating dishes and mingling, I had the humorous realization that the companion industry probably has the highest rate of scorpio placement pescatarians than any other field.
Speaking as a scorpio pescatarian myself… though the terms of my pescatarianism live in a realm of considerable looseness… I often think of the whore’s relationship to food, the body, and industry. Most obviously, is a factor of convenience, as the courtesan is often preferential to dinner dates and longer bookings with meals. Many of us would be proper vegetarians if it weren’t for a stunning lack of meat-free options on fine dining menus. It’s cruel to expect us women to live solely on pasta as entrees, even if there’s a grand caloric spend to come later.
There is also the simple fact that it’s better to fuck when you’ve been fed a delicate meal of raw fish rather than a heavier one in the western style with beef and potatoes, pork on pasta, cream on cream on cream. The body is a fickle thing, yet there are only so many restraints one may have before you stop getting invited to dinner altogether.
I’ve spent a portion of my life in this industry as a vegan as well. After five years of vegetarianism in my youth, then lapse back to meat eating, I cut out all animal products once I lived on my own at 18. This was a bit of a golden era for vegan dining, and I remember the first years I lived in New York to be filled with a wealth of options. There was a frequent excitement my tinder dates found in taking me to a new veggie friendly place I had not yet been too. The trend on this has drastically changed as the closure of EN Brasserie, Kajistu, Modern Love, and the largely celebrated reintroduction to meat on the EMP menu. From a business perspective, there is simply not enough demand to keep it going. Meat almost universally is seen as a wealth signal, while vegetables, no matter what amount of technique, care, or time goes into them, are difficult to sell as the main course when a meal is pushing 400 dollars a head.
There is a pervasive sexual politics of meat, which is as relevant to gender as it is to class. The association of eating an animal with masculinity and power, which often conjures imagery closer to hunting rather than the reality of industrial farming. To kill an animal is to dominate it, and to eat it is to take on its strength. The symbolism is obvious enough for even the dullest of men to understand, however in such a protein obsessed moment, it seems like many taken with this fervor for meat can really only assume power through what they consume (how American!).
In both medieval and modern times of peasantry, during periods of famine or pestilence, women (and their children) forgo meat (when it is available) so their husbands may have the precious calories instead. Their labor, their bodies, deemed more necessary than ours. In The West, giving up meat is less common, whether it be out of poverty, piety, or access, and now women may also adopt carnivorous indulgence for the same psycho-symbolic reasons men do. Meat branded as sexy, powerful, and rich… just like the ideal woman. Certainly, the base of all consumption is that it feels good, yet all consumption is inseparable from political. In this era where you have larger crops of influencers selling their fans diets of strictly beef and butter, the illusion of choice divorced from agenda fades rapidly.
My personal relationship to the politics of diet is not only informed by my early vegetarianism, but also my Korean background. As a child, it was quite the scandal that I was refusing meat, as it had become a wealth signal in Korean culture post-war. My father noted that a vegetarian diet was associated with poverty, with lack. What if the kids at school thought we were poor? His fear was not ahistorical. Since Korea remained an agrarian society up until the war, meat was something reserved for the wealthy and maybe some special occasions. Once the economy switched to an industrialized model (and gained first world allies), beef as a central component of the diet became more common. Now, Korean cuisine is almost synonymous with beef, largely due to the west’s infatuation with our barbecue. It seems to be every American’s introduction to the country, and rightfully so, but I would venture to say that the more fitting example of our food culture is found not in barbecue– which has grown successful as a product in part due to western liking– but rather in our soups– which have centuries of history in each one, and yet still humble in origin and form.
It is difficult to examine a product without thinking about all the little pieces used in its assembly. Many decisions are made to produce everything we touch in our lives, there is a considerable amount of weight in even the smallest aspects of our routines. This history is present in things one may never even think about. It is no coincidence that America’s cuisine and agriculture are both heavily beef forward, and that this culture has been exported to Korea post-war. I am also skeptical that the turn away from veganism as trend back towards meat is not relevant to a clear tide of conservative politics. Simultaneously, I think it’s fine to enjoy a steak, but… it is a bit suspicious if you enjoy it too much…
A few months ago, I went on a first dinner date with a client. When I asked if he wanted to share anything, he told me sheepishly over the menu that he’s been a vegetarian most of his life. I was excited to revel in stories of childhood vegetarianism together, and even more thrilled he wouldn’t be one of those guys who asserts masculinity through choking down a tomahawk steak at dinner. His tone indicated worry, as if I would be upset for his choice, but in earnest I found it incredibly sexy! Here it was inferred that there was a lifelong dedication, care, and restraint that stood as a core tenant of his values. These are elements of BDSM that I find thrilling, and when you see them peek through in daily life, well… you can assume. The sex appeal of meat, nowhere near that of vegetarianism. Genuine, selfless devotion. How salacious a humble man can be.
