Thinking Aloud: Is the Hard "g" in Vegan a Problem?

As I stumble through groggily making breakfast, vegans in Manchester are chatting away as they eat little sandwiches.

We're all on a break during The Vegan Society's Research Day, a full day of presentations simultaneously taking place in person (them, with sandwiches) and online (me, with pajama pants and coffee).

It's been a fascinating morning for me, even if it did start stupid-early. But as I hear the word "vegan" said over and over I find myself wondering; is the word itself holding the movement back?

That hard "g" sound, followed by the abrupt ending–it just feels confrontational. Compare it to the feel of ahimsa, the Sanskrit word for respecting all living things and causing no harm (which one of the presenters also mentioned). Or even words like gentle or compassionate or connected, which I think are attributes at the center of many people's choice not to harm animals, but maybe aren't reflected in perceptions of the word vegan.

Obviously alternatives such as plant-based exist (which has also been a topic of discussion this morning), but I don't think of plant-based as an identity–a product might be plant-based, but a person calling themselves plant-based just sounds strange (and doesn't suggest compassion for animals anyway).

As the post title suggests, I am just thinking aloud here, and have no final conclusion or suggestion to offer. But I don't have anyone to tell these thoughts to over little veggie sandwiches, so I'm capturing them here.