“Hello, I am a Vegan” : the experience of becoming a vegan in a non-vegan world : A qualitative investigation on how vegans undergo their transformation in social interactions with other people

Formålet med dette studie var at undersøge, hvordan nye veganere oplevede deres ændring fra et ikke-vegansk liv. Målet var at få indsigt i, hvordan nye veganere oplevede at engagere sig i sociale interaktioner med andre mennesker, når de vidste, at de kunne opfattes som en ekstrem gruppe. Hensigten var at få et indblik i, hvordan de oplevede at håndtere deres ønskede selv, når de skulle inkludere andre mennesker i deres nye veganske livsstil. Samtidig handlede det også om, hvordan de planlagde deres sociale interaktioner for at undgå konflikter eller fordømmelser fra andre mennesker. Gennem semistrukturerede interviews med 8 nye veganere blev der gennemført data som basis for analysen. Deltagerne blev valgt målrettet ud fra at de var nye veganere i en overgang fra en ikke-vegansk livsstil. En fortolkende fænomenologisk analyse blev foretaget som den metodologiske tilgang og der blev fundet 3 temaer "Transformation of wanted self in social interactions", "Social distancing from friends and family in the transformation" og "Et stærkere ønsket selv i sociale interaktioner". Deltagerne udtrykte, hvordan de oplevede at skulle forberede sig på at kunne spise ude med andre og hvordan, de håndterede at afvise animalske fødevarer der også kunne resultere i konflikter med andre mennesker. De oplevede at de var nødt til at forberede fortællinger for at undgå disse konflikter og fordomme fra deres omgivelser. Samtidig måtte de også tænke på andres tanker og sætte sig ind i andres sted for at forstå, hvordan de tænkte. De var opmærksomme på, hvordan de præsenterede deres veganske livsstil, og det endte i en social afstand fra de mennesker de normalt var sammen med. Det viste sig, at nogle af deltagerne med tiden fik erfaring med sociale interaktioner, der førte til et stærkere ønsket sig selv som veganer. Fund blev diskuteret i forhold til eksisterende litteratur, psykologisk teori og andre studier om emnet. Konklusionerne i undersøgelsen førte til refleksioner om, hvordan forståelsen af ​​sociale interaktioner for fremtidige studier af stigmatiserede eller stereotype grupper kan forstås, ikke kun i forskellige kostvaner, men også i andre former for grupper, hvor folk kan føle sig ekskluderede på grund af deres beslutninger eller ændringer af livsstil.The purpose of this study was to investigate how new vegans experienced their transformation from a non-vegan life. The aim was to gain insight into how new vegans experienced engaging in social interactions with other people, when they knew they could be perceived as an extreme group . The intention was to get an insight into how they experienced dealing with their wanted self when they included people in their new vegan diet and how they planned their social interactions to avoid conflicts or judgments. Through semi-structured interviews with 8 new vegans, data were conducted as a basis for the analysis. Participants were selected purposefully, according to the research study, and here it was important that they were new vegans in a transformation from a non-vegan life. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis was adopted as the methodological approach and 3 themes “Transformation of wanted self in social interactions”, ``Social distancing from friends and family in the transformation “ and “A stronger wanted self in social interactions” were found. Participants expressed how they experienced having to prepare themselves to be able to eat out with others and how they handled rejecting certain animal based food could result in judgments from other people. They experienced that they had to prepare narratives to avoid conflicts and judgment from their surroundings, but at the same time they also had to think about others thoughts and understand how they might react. They were aware of how they presented their vegan lifestyle and it ended up in social distancing, but also over time they had enough experience with social interactions that led to a stronger wanted self as a vegan. Findings were discussed in relation to existing literature and psychological theory and other studies upon the topic. The conclusions in the study led to reflections on how the understanding of social interactions for future studies of stigmatized or stereotyped groups can be understood, not only in different diets but also in other forms of groups where people might feel excluded because of their decisions or change of lifestyle.