Why do my friends keep bugging me about being vegetarian?

Question

I've been a vegetarian for about 2 months now, and meat grosses me out. It's just the thought of flesh that makes me really sick. My two best friends always try to freak me out and bug me about hating meat. Once we were at the community pool and they were eating hamburgers while I ate something else, and they would chew the meat up and open their mouths, so I would be grossed out. And when one of them was over my house, we were in a little joking-around type of fight and she went into the kitchen and grabbed a package of raw chicken and put it in front of my face. Then when we were all eating sandwiches, my other friend flung a piece of ham at me and it landed on my shoulder. And I felt like I was going to cry because i felt hurt and really sick to my stomach. Why do my friends always bug me like this? I love them, they have been my best friends forever, and I know they are my true friends (i can trust them and we always have alot of fun together), but I don't know why they do this.

Answer 1

My guess is two-fold:

1) They don't know how much it bothers/hurts you. If you tell them in a very serious way (without being angry) that it really does bother you, they should stop.

2) They may be experience some sort of jealousy that you're trying something new and interesting with your diet. They don't necessarily want to try it themselves, but are curious enough to lash out a little.

Those are just guesses, take them for what you will.