Performing ‘meat’: meat replacement as drag

Abstract

I propose that meat replacement is to meat, as drag is to gender. Meat replacement has the potential to shake concepts of meat, like drag does for gender. There is a rich literature on meat and gender. This paper also explores such connections but by analysing the concept of meat by analogy to that of gender: as an ‘identity’ that can be performed and performed otherwise. Meat replacements not only mimic meat but disclose how meat itself is performed in carnivorous culture – and show that it may be performed otherwise. My approach is inspired by the show RuPaul’s Drag Race. The argument builds on an imitation of Judith Butler’s work on gender performativity, performed by replacing ‘drag/gender/sex/heterosexism’ terms and relations in Butler’s text with ‘meat replacement/meat/species/carnism’ ones.