Dating: it conjures for many people feelings of excitement, and often dread. It is the inspiration for movies, tv-shows, books, comedy, drama. Dating is hard enough when one doesn't have a lot of well, requirements, of the potential dating pool. But throw in a requirement or two, such as religion, philosophy, or some other random personal quirk, it gets ever more daunting:
- I have a good friend who has decided relatively recently that she will be happiest if she dates only Jewish boys (she is Jewish herself).
- I have another good friend who has decided that he positively cannot stand to date any girl who eats meat, the very thought disgusts him (yes, he is a vegan).
- I have another friend who said once that she wouldn't be able to stand dating a guy who liked rock music.
In terms of vegan living, the question frequently comes up: Does it matter if your sig. other is veg*n? The answer is that it really depends.
Some points to consider:
- There are a limited number of vegans relative to everyone else, so one is narrowing the number of fish in the sea considerably by restricting themselves to just other vegans.
- I think there are probably more female vegans than male vegans...
- Vegetarians are probably a good next choice in terms of expanding the vegan's dating options.
- Veg*n/omnivore couples do exist, and some work out quite well.
That being said, there is something nice about being able to share core beliefs and philosophy with the person you are in a relationship with. It really means you have to work just a little bit less to connect in a meaningful way. All other benefits and headaches still apply.
The most recent VegNews magazine (March/April) devoted most of the issue to dating. One point brought in the issue were that dating non veg*ns actually educates the non-veg*n population about vegan ways. Although a valid point, it makes the romantic in me cringe. Dating to educate seems so, well, boring, and a bit insincere.
To the vegan thinking of dating a non-vegan: make sure you really aren't bothered by his/her meat-eating ways. If you think that you can transform someone into being a veg*n, good luck to you. You'll have a better chance of having a good relationship if the non-vegan is respectful of your veg*n ways, and YOU are at the very least tolerant, of his/her omniverous ways.
For the veg*n looking for other veggies. Sometimes the best place to find others are online; www.veggiedate.org is pretty good. www.match.com also has an option to search people based on diet criteria.
3 comments:
Dr. Blogenstein,
Sorry about that! Veg*n is my short-hand for vegetarians, vegans, or anything in between.
vegetarians: don't eat meat of any kind. Can be sub-classified into 2 groups:
lacto-ovo: don't eat meat, but eat dairy products and eggs. Then there are some that eat eggs, but no dairy, and dairy, but no eggs.
Vegetarians are considered the more main stream of the veg*n people.
Then there are the vegans. No meat, no dairy, no eggs, etc.
Hope that helps.
kca,
If someone calls themselves a vegetarian, but eats an animal, they are fibbing. You just aren't a vegetarian if you are a selective meat eater.
I've got a vegan wife myself, and we met online! The reason I limited myself to vegans is that it's important for me that someone else understands my own diet. It's an imperfect test, but it seems all of those who really understand veganism are vegan themselves.
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