It is probably the most original way of preparing food and apparently even the manliest: grilling. When the temperatures slowly start to ris...
But why is it that men are more likely to be seen preparing food outside than inside at the stove, for example? Does it possibly have something to do with human evolution? Is it maybe just in our blood? We have collected a few possible answers for you.
A typical barbecue situation
It's the weekend and the sun is shining. You and your friends gathered around the hot grill while your partners sat down at the table or tended to the side dishes. Meanwhile, you put all kinds of meat on the fire of the grill. It hisses, smokes, and smells of grilled meat. You toast with a cold beer and enjoy life.
Relaxed summer days at the grill play out in a similar way. While you and your buddies take care of the barbecue, the ladies take a break or take care of the salads. At least if you look at the archaic distribution of roles between men and women, then it's a role reversal, isn't it?
Which grill do you prefer?
We men are known to be very interested in technology in general. That's why we're always happy about new toys. This is also the case with grilling, for example. A new grill must always be tried out immediately and the more functions the new device has, the better. It is therefore already understand that we like to stand at the grill.
Of course, real men prefer grilling with charcoal. However, another type of grill is now on the rise and seems to be replacing the charcoal grill. The gas grill is very easy to use, has many functions, offers an open fire (perfect!), and is simply super fast.
The male cricket in numbers
If we look at the numbers from a Statista survey from 2017, it is clear who is at the grill more often. A total of 889 people were interviewed, who stated that at their BBQs almost 63 percent were men at the grill. 6.6 percent stated that mainly women are at the grill and at 30 percent they balanced each other out.
Overall, the BBQ business is a growing market. In Europe alone, more than 250 million grills are sold every year. Men often spend thousands of euros and pay attention to an extensive arsenal of functions, subjects, and whatever else is available. Let's be honest: A grill can never be big enough for us.
The Taming of Fire
We men love danger. Even as children, many of us liked to play with fire, throw firecrackers on New Year's Eve and put one or the other test of courage behind us. It's no different in adulthood. When grilling, we have the feeling that we are taming a force of nature. The fire obeys our word. We tame it and make sure that it even provides us with food.
This is probably one of the great things about grilling for us. Of course, the devices are so safe nowadays that nothing can actually happen. Nevertheless, there remains a tiny residual risk, which of course depends on the device, which makes us become children again.
However, it is not in the blood
However, if you're thinking that crickets are an evolutionary holdover from the Stone Age, you're wrong. Grilling as we know it today is actually something relatively modern. The reality in the hunter-gatherer era was different. In early forager societies, women tended the fire and prepared the food. Even today, we know from many cultures, such as Asia and Central America, that women tend the grill.
Grilling is a role-playing game
Grilling these days has evolved into more of a role-playing game, originating in America in the 1950s. The man presents himself in the open air, i.e. more or less publicly, as the provider of his family. He says like this: “I can feed my family”. Maybe that's also one of the reasons why men are at the grill today. They want to take care of their loved ones.
A deliberate departure from modern everyday life
Grilling is fun and grilling can be delicious. However, it is also a conscious step backward from modern everyday life. While kitchens are hygienic and usually look like they have been licked, hygiene outside at the grill is relatively unimportant, true to the motto "dirt makes bacon".
It satisfies the man's longing for something original and imperfect. In everyday life, there is pressure to perform and that makes things difficult for us. This is not the case on the grill. There is nothing complicated here, just two components: fire and flesh. Both meet and in the end, there is an original pleasure that you share alone, with friends or your family.
