Real Men Don't Eat Quiche
Encyclopedia
Real Men Don't Eat Quiche, by American Bruce Feirstein
, is a bestselling tongue-in-cheek
book satirizing stereotype
s of masculinity
, published in 1982 (ISBN 0-671-44831-5). It popularized the term quiche-eater, meaning a man who is a dilettante, a trend-chaser, an over-anxious conformist to fashionable forms of 'lifestyle', and socially correct behaviors and opinions, one who eschews (or merely lacks) the traditional masculine virtue of tough self-assurance. A 'traditional' male might enjoy egg-and-bacon pie if his wife served it to him; a quiche-eater, or Sensitive New Age
Guy would make the dish himself, call it by its French name quiche, and serve it to his female life partner
to demonstrate his empathy with the Women's Movement. He would also wash up afterwards.
The book's humor derives from the fears and confusion of contemporary middle-class men about how they ought to behave, after a decade of feminist critique on traditional male roles and beliefs.
The book was on the New York Times Best Seller list
for 55 weeks, and sold over 1.6 million copies. An Australian adaptation by Alex Buzo
was published in 1982.
-eater expression survives in computer programming
circles, where it means a person far removed from practice and concerned only with academic matters, unwilling to "get their hands dirty". Being humorous in nature, it is usually a fairly mild insult. The term gained popularity with this group as a result of the publication of the parody article "Real Programmers Don't Use Pascal
".
, Real Women Don't Pump Gas; and a 1983 book by illustrator Lee Lorenz
titled Real Dogs Don't Eat Leftovers. For 1984, matching Real Men Don't Eat Quiche and Real Women Don't Pump Gas calendars were released. There were also many imitations from other publishers, most notably Real Kids Don't Say Please, Real Women Never Pump Iron and Real Women Send Flowers. In 1992, a sequel, Real Men Don't Bond, was released.
Bruce Feirstein
Bruce Feirstein is an American screenwriter and humorist, best known for his contributions to the James Bond series and his best-selling humor books, including Real Men Don't Eat Quiche and Nice Guys Sleep Alone. Real Men Don't Eat Quiche was on the New York Times best seller list for 53...
, is a bestselling tongue-in-cheek
Tongue-in-cheek
Tongue-in-cheek is a phrase used as a figure of speech to imply that a statement or other production is humorously intended and it should not be taken at face value. The facial expression typically indicates that one is joking or making a mental effort. In the past, it may also have indicated...
book satirizing stereotype
Stereotype
A stereotype is a popular belief about specific social groups or types of individuals. The concepts of "stereotype" and "prejudice" are often confused with many other different meanings...
s of masculinity
Masculinity
Masculinity is possessing qualities or characteristics considered typical of or appropriate to a man. The term can be used to describe any human, animal or object that has the quality of being masculine...
, published in 1982 (ISBN 0-671-44831-5). It popularized the term quiche-eater, meaning a man who is a dilettante, a trend-chaser, an over-anxious conformist to fashionable forms of 'lifestyle', and socially correct behaviors and opinions, one who eschews (or merely lacks) the traditional masculine virtue of tough self-assurance. A 'traditional' male might enjoy egg-and-bacon pie if his wife served it to him; a quiche-eater, or Sensitive New Age
New Age
The New Age movement is a Western spiritual movement that developed in the second half of the 20th century. Its central precepts have been described as "drawing on both Eastern and Western spiritual and metaphysical traditions and then infusing them with influences from self-help and motivational...
Guy would make the dish himself, call it by its French name quiche, and serve it to his female life partner
Life partner
A life partner is a romantic or otherwise very close friend for life. The partners can be of the same or opposite sexes, married or unmarried, and monogamous or polyamorous....
to demonstrate his empathy with the Women's Movement. He would also wash up afterwards.
The book's humor derives from the fears and confusion of contemporary middle-class men about how they ought to behave, after a decade of feminist critique on traditional male roles and beliefs.
The book was on the New York Times Best Seller list
New York Times Best Seller list
The New York Times Best Seller list is widely considered the preeminent list of best-selling books in the United States. It is published weekly in The New York Times Book Review magazine, which is published in the Sunday edition of The New York Times and as a stand-alone publication...
for 55 weeks, and sold over 1.6 million copies. An Australian adaptation by Alex Buzo
Alex Buzo
Alex Buzo was an Australian playwright and author who wrote 88 works.-Early life:Buzo was born in Sydney in 1944 to an Albanian-born father and an Australian mother...
was published in 1982.
Quiche-eater
The quicheQuiche
Quiche is a savory, open-faced pie of vegetables, cheese, or meat in custard, baked in a pastry crust.The quiche is sometimes regarded as the savoury equivalent ofegg custard tart.- Etymology:...
-eater expression survives in computer programming
Computer programming
Computer programming is the process of designing, writing, testing, debugging, and maintaining the source code of computer programs. This source code is written in one or more programming languages. The purpose of programming is to create a program that performs specific operations or exhibits a...
circles, where it means a person far removed from practice and concerned only with academic matters, unwilling to "get their hands dirty". Being humorous in nature, it is usually a fairly mild insult. The term gained popularity with this group as a result of the publication of the parody article "Real Programmers Don't Use Pascal
Real Programmers Don't Use Pascal
"Real Programmers Don't Use Pascal" is an essay about computer programming written by Ed Post of Tektronix, Inc., and published in July 1983 as a letter to the editor in Datamation....
".
Sequels
The book was followed in 1982 by a cookbook, Real Men Don't Cook Quiche; a companion book by Joyce JillsonJoyce Jillson
Joyce Jillson was a syndicated newspaper columnist, best-selling author, actress, and astrologer. Her column was syndicated worldwide in over 200 papers and magazines....
, Real Women Don't Pump Gas; and a 1983 book by illustrator Lee Lorenz
Lee Lorenz
Lee Lorenz is an American cartoonist, most notable for his work in The New Yorker.Lorenz is an alumnus of Carnegie Tech and Pratt Institute. His first published cartoon appeared in Colliers in 1956, and two years later he became a contract contributor to The New Yorker, which has published more...
titled Real Dogs Don't Eat Leftovers. For 1984, matching Real Men Don't Eat Quiche and Real Women Don't Pump Gas calendars were released. There were also many imitations from other publishers, most notably Real Kids Don't Say Please, Real Women Never Pump Iron and Real Women Send Flowers. In 1992, a sequel, Real Men Don't Bond, was released.
Inspirations
- Real Programmers Don't Use PascalReal Programmers Don't Use Pascal"Real Programmers Don't Use Pascal" is an essay about computer programming written by Ed Post of Tektronix, Inc., and published in July 1983 as a letter to the editor in Datamation....
: (usenet) is similar to Feirstein's book but concerns computer programming. It alleges that real programmers use Fortran for everything that can't be toggled directly into the front panelFront panelA front panel was used on early electronic computers to display and allow the alteration of the state of the machine's internal registers and memory. The front panel usually consisted of arrays of indicator lamps, toggle switches, and push buttons mounted on a sheet metal face plate...
. Unix was considered a little "quichey" in 1983, and Pascal especially so. - In game theoryGame theoryGame theory is a mathematical method for analyzing calculated circumstances, such as in games, where a person’s success is based upon the choices of others...
the Beer-Quiche game of Cho and Kreps draws on the stereotype of quiche eaters being less masculine. In this game, an individual B is considering whether to duelDuelA duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two individuals, with matched weapons in accordance with agreed-upon rules.Duels in this form were chiefly practised in Early Modern Europe, with precedents in the medieval code of chivalry, and continued into the modern period especially among...
with another individual A. B knows that A is either a wimp or is surly but not which. B would prefer a duel if A is a wimp but not if A is surly. Player A, regardless of type, wants to avoid a duel. Before making the decision B has the opportunity to see whether A chooses to have beer or quiche for breakfast. Both players know that wimps prefer quiche while surlies prefer beer. The point of the game is to analyze the choice of breakfast by each kind of A. This has become a standard example of a signaling game.