Foodie Culture And Personal Identity

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Almerico, Gina. 2014. “Food and Identity: Food Studies, Cultural, And Personal Identity”. Journal of International Business and Cultural Studies 8. The study examines how food studies is more than just about food itself. Rather, practices and behaviours surrounding food demonstrate the economic, political, cultural and social significance of food. Americo’s study begins by examining how food shapes individual identity, using the stereotypes attached to certain food and what popular restaurant choices reveal about individuals as examples. Furthermore, she explores how the symbolic meanings and experiences attached to particular foods can reveal further information about identity. Finally, food choices can define who one is and
Using data collected through qualitative interviews, they present the relationship between foodie culture and gender in three ways. Firstly, both foodie men and women view food as pleasurable in their lives, something that women struggle to collate with the social expectation of feminine restraint. Furthermore, foodie women also report a high affinity with cooking food food as a method of care, compared to foodie men who view cooking for others as a source of leisure. Finally, the possession ad pursuit of food knowledge is very significant to individual identification as a foodie, particularly among male respondents. There theories are supported by in-depth background research, as well as extensive qualitative interview data from a sample of the dominant foodie demographic: affluent, white, middle-upper class individuals. The author’s research and discussion will be very useful for an analysis of how food practices shape gendered identity, as they provide detailed research into a rising contemporary demographic and how gender influences their food choices and
While food consumption as affirmation of gender identity is supported through numerous documents, Furst discusses how the making of food plays a vital role in the construction of the feminine identity, as women remain proprietors of the kitchen. In particular, the ability to cook is seen as a fundamental part of the woman’s role in the family, both as wives and mothers. Furthermore, Furst suggests that cooking extends beyond part of identity formation to existing as a rationale, where women not only cook for affirm their femininity but to provide food for others. As cooking is a kind of no wage labour and is directly linked to the formation of gender identity, femininity is performed and maintained through the act of giving food and providing for others. Furst draws on a range of theories, including both feminist and neo-marxist ideas, to produce an informed and thorough argument as to how both cooking and providing food for others is significant in the formation of the female identity. The author’s research will be helpful to my own studies as it provides examples and theories about how gender is constructed not only though consumption but through production as

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