''Real Men Don't Eat Quiche'' is a best-selling

tongue-in-cheek The idiom tongue-in-cheek refers to a humorous or sarcastic statement expressed in a serious manner. History The phrase originally expressed contempt, but by 1842 had acquired its modern meaning. Early users of the phrase include Sir Walter Scott ...

book satirizing

stereotype In social psychology, a stereotype is a generalized belief about a particular category of people. It is an expectation that people might have about every person of a particular group. The type of expectation can vary; it can be, for example ...

s of

masculinity Masculinity (also called manhood or manliness) is a set of attributes, behaviors, and roles associated with men and boys. Masculinity can be theoretically understood as socially constructed, and there is also evidence that some behaviors con ...

by the American screenwriter and

humorist A humorist (American) or humourist (British spelling) is an intellectual who uses humor, or wit, in writing or public speaking, but is not an artist who seeks only to elicit laughs. Humorists are distinct from comedians, who are show business e ...

Bruce Feirstein Bruce Feirstein (born 1956) 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 Do ...

, published in 1982 (). The title alludes to the gender associations of

quiche Quiche ( ) is a French tart consisting of pastry crust filled with savoury custard and pieces of cheese, meat, seafood or vegetables. A well-known variant is quiche Lorraine, which includes lardons or bacon. Quiche may be served hot, warm or co ...

as a "feminine" food in American culture, which causes men to avoid it and has served as the basis of the title of multiple journal articles. To gain free publicity the publisher sent copies of the book to radio personalities and newspaper columnists, and the witty "real men don't ..." definitions were widely quoted. Listeners and readers then bought the book for more of the definitions.Walters, Ray, "PAPERBACK TALK; Wits of the 80's", ''The New York Times'', Section 7, page 31, June 20, 1982 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 Alexander John Buzo (23 July 194416 August 2006) was an Australian playwright and author who wrote 88 works. His literary works recorded Australian culture through wit, humour and extensive use of colloquial Australian English. Biography Ear ...

was published later that year.

References

External links

''Real Men Don't Eat Quiche''
on

Archive.org The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

Books by Bruce Feirstein 1982 non-fiction books Satirical books Metaphors referring to food and drink {{comedy-book-stub