It’s in the Water

I wonder if there is something in the water at the Rose, or for that matter at every dyke restaurant, hang-out, meeting place, etc. Or maybe it is linked to one of the genes. Or maybe it’s resocialization as we enter the dyke community. I’m not sure what it is, but I think it has something to do with being a lesbian or bi. All I know is sure wasn’t raised that way.

I was raised on Burger King. At seven years old, my meal of choice was the bacon double cheeseburger with fries and a pop. Soda was a staple at my house. We were never without it; in fact we normally had several types.

Slowly but surely, I have stepped away from my upbringing. Where once soda was a beverage that was consumed in great quantities, now I have a can every couple of weeks and then only because it is provided for free at work. I spent several years not eating red meat. Now I’ve vowed not to eat at McDonalds, Burger King, or any other fast food conglomerate for at least a year. Something that will not be that hard, since in the last year I probably only got fast food five times, but now it is conscious decision. A protest if you will, against organizations that exacerbate oppression. A protest against the abuse of all their workers from the farms to “would you like to supersize that?” A protest against the way they treat the animals. A protest against the disease that they allow to run rampant, feeding vegetarian cows and chickens other animals that have been slaughtered. I’m protesting against all the foreign substances that are pumped into our edible animals like antibiotics, steroids and hormones.

Another sign of my granola conversion is found not only in my abstinence of the fast food conglomeration, but also in the comfort of my own home. It started with eggs. For years, I have been spending a little more money to get the free range and hormone free eggs. The last time I went shopping, I got milk from cows that haven’t been fed other cows or been pumped up on drugs. After reading Fast Food Nation with my book club, I have also begun hunting down organic meat so now when engage in my carnivorous delights, I eat chicken or red meat that I have a reasonable expectation is at least healthier for me, and hopefully their lives are a better too.

I can see the day when I will go completely organic: yogurt, butter, even eggnog (yup saw it at the grocery store during the holiday season). I doubt I will ever go further and enter the land of vegetarianism and I could never give up cheese, chocolate, or all the other fabulous dairy products to become a vegan, but I am awe of the people who can.

I am convinced that the dramatic change from the girl who loved BK to the emerging organic, more conscious food consumer I am today has something to do with being a lesbian. I mean we even have a title for it: granola dyke. It seems like every time I meet a new lezzie or bi girl, she is a vegetarian, a pescatarian, or a vegan. This is not true of my queer challenged friends. Maybe it is in the genes or simply a product of peer pressure and resocialization based in a growing awareness of the world as a whole and how all systems of oppression play off of each other. All I know is my diet is slowly changing to fulfilling the lesbian stereotype and I don’t mind one bit.

Out Loud Index