Green masculinity in green food branding? Negotiating masculinity and authenticity in social media communication of green food brands

This article examines how masculinity and authenticity are negotiated in the social media branding of green food, a field marked by the well‑documented eco‑gender gap in which men are less likely than women to adopt sustainable diets. Empirically, the paper draws on the Danish porridge brand Grød and its founder Lasse Skjønning Andersen (LSA). We analyze Instagram posts to understand how entrepreneurial identity, care, and sustainability are performed in persona‑driven green branding. Drawing on critical studies of men and masculinities and theories of mediated authenticity, the study shows how LSA enacts a hybrid form of ecomodern masculinity that blends emotional openness, care, and environmental concern with entrepreneurial confidence and growth‑oriented logic. While these performances may broaden the appeal of green food to male consumers, they ultimately reinforce commercial and gendered power structures. The article contributes an account of how authenticity sustains rather than disrupts ecomodern masculine identities in sustainability communication.