Browsing by Author "Joustra Bartholomaus, Camila Antonia"

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    Memes and Veganism: Representations of Vegan Identity and Its Alterity
    (2023) Joustra Bartholomaus, Camila Antonia; Alfaro, Juan; Giacoman Hernández, Claudia
    This research aims to identify the underlying discourses in the representation of vegan identity and its alterity in memes. We made a structural analysis of 276 memes published in two Chilean vegan accounts on Instagram. The results reveal that the discursive structures of the memes studied consist of two evaluation axis (one practical and one ethical-political) that generate a typology of representations about vegan identity (authentic vegan) and its alterity (impostor nonvegan, authentic nonvegan, impostor vegan). We also found two interactions that deepen the definition of the authentic vegan identity. In these interactions, conflict and ridicule toward the nonvegan prevail. We conclude that online contexts and the use of memes as the analysis unit allow an emerging conflictive side of veganism that had been hidden in previous works. This article invites others to delve into the study of vegan identities and existing negotiation strategies in both online and offline spaces.
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    The Way to Someone’s Mind Is through Their Stomach: Vegans and Culinary Activism
    (2025) Giacoman Hernández, Claudia Trinidad; Joustra Bartholomaus, Camila Antonia
    This article aims to understand how vegans promote a society without animal exploitation through food. Based on material from three years of fieldwork with young vegans in Santiago, Chile, this research shows that vegans utilize commensality and social media to present food as a joyful and friendly way to convince others about the viability of following a plant-based diet, avoiding conflict and evading talking about animals’ exploitation. The interviewees mentioned that sharing their dishes with non-vegans is a form of activism. This involves presenting new flavours and preparations and disseminating know-how about vegan cuisine, including information about ingredients and recipes. The sociological literature on lifestyle movements emphasizes that their followers employ consumption to promote changes. This research goes beyond because it argues that food is a pragmatic mechanism for socializing others into performing a political idea in everyday life.
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    Veganism, Cuisine, and Class: Exploring taste as a facilitator in adopting a vegan lifestyle in Santiago, Chile
    (2024) Giacoman Hernández, Claudia; Joustra Bartholomaus, Camila Antonia
    Veganism is a movement that avoids consuming animal products. This lifestyle is commonly represented as elitist despite the broad range of people who follow it. Using Bourdieu's taste theory, this study analyzes how personal culinary tastes of different social classes generate favorable (or unfavorable) dispositions to adopting veganism. For this purpose, we analyzed 73 biographical interviews with 401 young vegans in three different waves. The findings reveal that all social classes exhibit favorable dispositions towards veganism. In upper-class individuals, dispositions to embrace healthy and exotic food facilitate the adoption of new flavors and reflexivity in eating practices. Conversely, lower-class individuals have traditional meatless culinary practices rooted in their restricted budget, facilitating the transition to a plant-based diet. These results demonstrate the relevance of social class in understanding the diversity of vegan practices, and they contribute to breaking stereotypes around this movement.