Men are allowed to eat yogurt even if food advertising tells us yogurt is for women. Men are even allowed to eat yogurt in public, and don't have to be gnawing on a medium-rare steak while eating yogurt.
But Powerful Yogurt, a zero-fat Greek yogurt, is aimed and marketed to men as a yogurt for men.
Unlike Dr. Pepper Ten and other "men-only" products, this yogurt doesn't do anything "male." The flavors aren't particularly male: apple cinnamon, banana, blueberry acai, mango, plain, and strawberry. What no chipotle treebark?
Powerful Yogurt's tagline is "find your inner abs" — so maybe this yogurt isn't being aimed at most men. I'm in better shape than most American men, and even I can't find my inner abs, or any other abs.
Besides the alleged abs men will get by eating the yogurt, the packaging is certainly aimed at men with Powerful Yogurt's larger size (8 oz. vs. 6 oz.) and certainly looks less sleek and more masculine with its black and red pattern.
Thanks to Atlantic magazine, we know the company tried to promote its manly yogurt as improving the quality of sperm (think of that next time you are looking at yogurt).
Yogurt is yogurt, regardless of gender. Same goes for Greek yogurt. But if insecure men are avoiding Greek yogurt based on some "girly" stereotypes, here is how you can make your yogurt more "masculine," or gender-neutral at minimum.
Yogurt single-serving containers are small and sleek and are designed with women in mind. If you pour yogurt from a larger container, such as the gender-neutral 32 oz. size, into a container from home, and you eat the yogurt in public, you can serve an 8 oz. size as easily as a 6 oz. size.
Yogurt single-serving containers are also packed with a lot of sugar and/or high-fructose corn syrup because women tend to want sweeter things more than men. Even fruit-based yogurts often come with extra sweeteners on top of already sweet fruit. Take that container from home, put in 8 oz. of plain Greek yogurt, put in jalapenos or barbecue sauce or bacon, and you have a truly masculine yogurt.
In no other species do genders subdivide food. Men can eat salads; women can eat steak. And everyone can eat yogurt. You have every right to modify a food to fit your personality or suit gender stereotypes, but you are also allowed to ignore the temptations of basic stereotypes and tempt yourself in a good way to make your food your own. This is the beauty of taking plain yogurt, Greek or regular, and adapting it; you are only limited by your imagination. Though if you go the chipotle treebark route, make sure your teeth are in good shape.
photo credits: Powerful Yogurt and NPR
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