Bacon. Seems too good to be true. Fried meaty goodness with a rich, fatty taste. This is along with going great with pretty much any food. However, within this fantastic trend in the cooking scene, I see a couple problems. In fact, you could say that the entire concept of bacon is a metaphor for how the adult world is. In order to make this understood, we have to review a couple facts about bacon.

1. Bacon has many different types. There is not “one” kind of bacon.
2. People have claimed the concept of bacon as something integral to their own identity, within their own specific subgroup.
3. Bacon is damn delicious, but it is not for everyone.

For this specific example, the subgroup that has “claimed” bacon is the generalized concept of men. Bacon has permeated every aspect of interest, from adding it to every food in the freaking world, to unnecessarily flavoring specific foods (Chocolate, tea, ect) with the taste. Bacon is seen as an inherently masculine food, that is the fact of the matter. However, in doing this, it ruins the ability to fully enjoy and adopt it within other subgroups because of the aggressive stereotyping and embracing of consistent stagnation in individuals mindsets/personalities.

These statements sound bad, and easy to dismiss as a stereotype of a gender, but lets look closer before making any snap judgments, ok?

By having one group completely hijack the concept of a commonly enjoyed substance/idea, you restrict the evolution and layered complexity that other mindsets/cultures would add to it. By claiming it, you are in a sense creating a threatening precedent that other, less aggressive types of people would feel unable to enter/add to.

“But bacon isn’t just for men right? Everyone eats bacon and enjoys it!”

Sounds true, and mostly is. However, by restricting the idea of what bacon could represent, you indirectly create the idea that bacon can only be that. Doesn’t matter that everyone enjoys bacon. They are only enjoying the way that you enjoy bacon. 

“You are generalizing gender here. There are men who don’t enjoy it.”

That is true, but we are not talking about those men. We are talking about the voice of masculinity that is emitted in America. It is a culmination of many voices into one, and is something that is widely accepted as the “male” standard.

A good comparison on the other side of the table is the pumpkin spice phenomenon, which has formed in a similar fashion, albeit more in reaction to the culture associated with bacon.

This comparison is simple. Men have bacon, women have pumpkin spice.

The fact that men make comments about the feminine enjoyment of the flavor is only kindling in the fire in regards to how this affects both sides. Bacon is a one sided, male driven food, while at the same time the enjoyment of “female” driven products are perceived to be anti-male and effeminate, a concept that male culture tends to dismiss and look down upon.  However, what happens when a substance/concept is actually interesting and/or tasty, though embracing it is unattainable due to the fear of being shamed?

Conflict and unhappiness. Both sides with try to enjoy the thing controlled by the other group, and both will have less enjoyment because of the inability to adopt it within their own culture. The ability to add onto the thing with their own specific mindset/style would in the end only diversify and progress it in a different way.

Bacon is beautiful. Pumpkin spice is beautiful. Ideas are beautiful. Wikipedia pages are beautiful.

Lets stop restricting the advancement of cultures, and embrace that everyone has something unique and interesting to add to them.