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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
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Arwa Mahdawi

Are chicken sandwiches a) a tasty lunch? Or b) the ultimate symbol of gen Z wokeness?

Two female friends eating a sandwich together in nature.
‘Conservatives love to accuse the left of being snowflakes, yet they’re the ones getting upset by a sandwich.’ Photograph: Westend61/Getty Images

You are what you eat. And if you eat sandwiches? Then you’re probably woke, I’m afraid. While the convenience food may have been invented by a degenerate earl who, legend has it, didn’t want a proper meal to interrupt his gambling, some sarnies have now been deemed politically correct by the MailOnline – who are, of course, leading experts in wokeness. The MailOnline is getting flak for a recent headline that states gen Z “are ditching English classics like ham and mustard in favour of fancy woke fillings”.

What sort of PC fillings are we talking about? Quinoa, vegan camembert and kale on artisanal sourdough with a non-binary condiment (they-onnaise)? Nope. It seems what has ruffled the MailOnline’s feathers is … chicken. According to The Great British Sandwich Study, a wholesome survey conducted by the bread maker Allinson’s, older generations are partial to a ham sandwich while gen Z prefer chicken. Most boomers also like cheddar while younger consumers are fond of fancier fillings. Pretty inoffensive stuff, right? Yet somehow this has been packaged up into a culture wars piece. It’s funny how conservatives love to accuse the left of being snowflakes, yet they’re the ones getting upset by a sandwich.

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