# Males vs Females: Do you eat pizza with a fork and a knife, or with your hands? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 23, 2013, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/males-vs-females-do-you-eat-pizza-with-a-fork-and-a-knife-or-with-your-hands/648139 "2013-01-23T19:30:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![R3d\_Anonymous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/aeb1de/32.png) [@R3d\_Anonymous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/R3d_Anonymous)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2013, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/males-vs-females-do-you-eat-pizza-with-a-fork-and-a-knife-or-with-your-hands/648139/1 "2013-01-23T19:30:59Z")
This is a poll to see whether or not women are more likely to use a fork and a knife while eating pizza. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Il\_Palazzo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Lord\_Il\_Palazzo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Il_Palazzo)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2013, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/males-vs-females-do-you-eat-pizza-with-a-fork-and-a-knife-or-with-your-hands/648139/2 "2013-01-23T19:34:28Z")
Only very messy, sloppy pizzas get a fork and knife. I haven’t had a pizza messy enough for that in at least a year or two. EDIT: I’m male in case the “Lord” in my username wasn’t a giveaway. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2013, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/males-vs-females-do-you-eat-pizza-with-a-fork-and-a-knife-or-with-your-hands/648139/3 "2013-01-23T19:34:41Z")
I voted knife and fork, but it really depends on the place. The place where I went last night has slices the size of an aircraft carrier, so it’s just easier that way. ---
**Author:** ![steviep24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5f9b8f/32.png) [@steviep24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steviep24)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2013, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/males-vs-females-do-you-eat-pizza-with-a-fork-and-a-knife-or-with-your-hands/648139/4 "2013-01-23T19:35:39Z")
With my hands unless I just baked a frozen pizza and it’s too hot to hold. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2013, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/males-vs-females-do-you-eat-pizza-with-a-fork-and-a-knife-or-with-your-hands/648139/5 "2013-01-23T19:36:35Z")
Unless for some reason the pizza wants to come apart as you pick it up, it’s hands only. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2013, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/males-vs-females-do-you-eat-pizza-with-a-fork-and-a-knife-or-with-your-hands/648139/6 "2013-01-23T19:45:33Z")
It has nothing to do with gender. If you eat pizza with a knife and fork you are a communist. Or even worse, you are [Donald Trump](http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/wed-june-1-2011/me-lover-s-pizza-with-crazy-broad). ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2013, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/males-vs-females-do-you-eat-pizza-with-a-fork-and-a-knife-or-with-your-hands/648139/7 "2013-01-23T19:47:28Z")
It depends on the firmness of the crust, the amount of toppings and how hot the pizza is. Most often we have frozen pizzas at home (Delissio a.k.a. DiGiorno), and it’s too hot and/or floppy and/or sloppy when it’s right out of the oven, so I use a fork (no knife). Once it cools down a bit, I use my hands. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2013, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/males-vs-females-do-you-eat-pizza-with-a-fork-and-a-knife-or-with-your-hands/648139/8 "2013-01-23T19:47:29Z")
Eating pizza with a knife and fork really is a character flaw. I don’t trust anyone that does it unless it is because of unusual circumstances. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2013, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/males-vs-females-do-you-eat-pizza-with-a-fork-and-a-knife-or-with-your-hands/648139/9 "2013-01-23T19:50:26Z")
I thought that was an American/European thing, not a male/female thing. Searching for images of _woman eating pizza_ gets me a lot of pictures of women cheerfully eating pizza with their fingers, not a knife & fork. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2013, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/males-vs-females-do-you-eat-pizza-with-a-fork-and-a-knife-or-with-your-hands/648139/10 "2013-01-23T19:51:46Z")
The sort of person who eats pizza with a knife and fork is the same type of person who would put ranch dressing on chicken wings – heathens! ---
**Author:** ![R3d\_Anonymous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/aeb1de/32.png) [@R3d\_Anonymous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/R3d_Anonymous)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2013, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/males-vs-females-do-you-eat-pizza-with-a-fork-and-a-knife-or-with-your-hands/648139/11 "2013-01-23T19:53:02Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > Eating pizza with a knife and fork really is a character flaw. Why? ETA: I’m honestly trying to get into the habit of eating with a knife and a fork because it’s much less messier that way. I hate it when my hands get all messy. ---
**Author:** ![polar\_bear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ec9cab/32.png) [@polar\_bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/polar_bear)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2013, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/males-vs-females-do-you-eat-pizza-with-a-fork-and-a-knife-or-with-your-hands/648139/12 "2013-01-23T19:56:42Z")
It depends. If I order pizza (or have a frozen one), I’ll usually eat it with my hands while lounging on the couch. If I’m in a Italian restaurant (or places that claim to be), I’ll always use knife and fork… ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2013, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/males-vs-females-do-you-eat-pizza-with-a-fork-and-a-knife-or-with-your-hands/648139/13 "2013-01-23T20:00:37Z")
Come on, now. The percentage of males _ **or** _ females who eat pizza with utensils will be vanishingly small, and I can’t imagine that a SDMB poll will provide any kind of worthwhile results. Then again, people like to be different here at the SDMB, the internet hub for stick-shifters and no-TV-havers, so who knows? Edit : Goddammit, I just saw the OP’s username. Figures. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2013, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/males-vs-females-do-you-eat-pizza-with-a-fork-and-a-knife-or-with-your-hands/648139/14 "2013-01-23T20:04:11Z")
Until I left California, I never ate pizza any way except with my hands. Firm crusts and non-gloppy toppings seem to be the rule there, even with deep-dish and “Chicago” style pizzas. I also thought California had way, way too many pizza places, until. Since getting to the northeast, where you can hop across the landscape from the roof of one pizza shack to another (counting the zillion restaurants that serve pizza alongside other cuisines), I think I’ve eaten about three pieces with my hands and regretted it. Extremely soft crusts and drippy-wet toppings make it plate-knife-fork only. It’s like eating spaghetti with your hands. Sample size is about ten restaurants, including a couple that were recommended to me to address this complaint. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2013, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/males-vs-females-do-you-eat-pizza-with-a-fork-and-a-knife-or-with-your-hands/648139/15 "2013-01-23T20:06:19Z")
I didn’t vote b/c I normally use both. I’ll use a fork and knife for the first few bites when the pizza is still hot and gooey, but once it settles down a bit I switch to using my hands. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2013, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/males-vs-females-do-you-eat-pizza-with-a-fork-and-a-knife-or-with-your-hands/648139/16 "2013-01-23T20:07:44Z")
Are we talking Chicago-style deep-dish, or real pizza? Real pizza is eaten by hand, folded. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2013, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/males-vs-females-do-you-eat-pizza-with-a-fork-and-a-knife-or-with-your-hands/648139/17 "2013-01-23T20:13:09Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Real pizza is eaten by hand, folded. My high school had only a lunch counter, not a cafeteria. Pizza there was eaten two slices at a time, splapped together like a sandwich. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2013, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/males-vs-females-do-you-eat-pizza-with-a-fork-and-a-knife-or-with-your-hands/648139/18 "2013-01-23T20:15:11Z")
(Missed the edit winder) The custom in the northeast is also to cut pizza in squares, instead of across as Shakey Johnson intended. I feel like I’m eating in a grade school cafeteria with these little rectangles. All of which adds up to pizza being a very sometime thing any more, which is good on a caloric, fat and salt level. I do grab a 'za when I’m back in California, which is very infrequently. ---
**Author:** ![Sevencl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@Sevencl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sevencl)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2013, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/males-vs-females-do-you-eat-pizza-with-a-fork-and-a-knife-or-with-your-hands/648139/19 "2013-01-23T20:16:15Z")
I eat everything with a knife and fork wherever possible, even sandwiches. I will eat without if I’m very hungry and there’s nowhere to sit and eat properly, but I loathe it and no amount of wet wipes or hand sanitiser will make me feel clean again. EDIT: also female, for the poll. ---
**Author:** ![Sister\_Vigilante](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@Sister\_Vigilante](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sister_Vigilante)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2013, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/males-vs-females-do-you-eat-pizza-with-a-fork-and-a-knife-or-with-your-hands/648139/20 "2013-01-23T20:23:43Z")
Like others, I use a knife and fork when the pizza is fresh and too hot and melty. About halfway through I’ll switch to hands only. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/males-vs-females-do-you-eat-pizza-with-a-fork-and-a-knife-or-with-your-hands/648139.md?page=2)