How is food gendered How do men or women differentiate themselves from Essay

How is intellectual nourish handst gendered How do men or women differentiate themselves from the other gender with food What does this accomplish in terms of individuality and their r - Essay ExampleIn contemporary times, especially in the western world, there is a tendency to accent on the thinness of the body as a symbol of self-control, power and assertion of individuality. This is in contrast to other cultures such as that in Jamaica and Fiji, where a plump body is acceptable and preferred, with its connotations of care-giving, generosity and social cohesion. In the United States power relations are established through subordination, where women frequently experience dissatisfaction and self-hatred directed at their body. This results in women and to some extent men, spending huge amounts of time and energy for relentlessly pursuing thinness. Differentiation among the genders and personal identity construction is increasingly food-related. Where the desire for thinness is predominant and obsessive, psychopathological outcomes such as Anorexia nervosa and bulimia may result (Counihan, 1999 11).The purpose of this paper is to examine how food is gendered, how differentiation from the other gender is conceptualized by men or women based on food determine its impact on the formation of personal identity, and on relationships with own gender and the opposite gender.Women almost exclusively have observed fasts since centuries, using food as a unique voice to express themselves. Among men and women in several cultures, food is used as a means of differentiating between the genders as well as a channel of connection between them. Males and females claim different roles with regard to food, and specific attributes through identification with particular foods. Food is used as a means for defining their masculinity and muliebrity along with similarities and differences between them (Counihan, 1999 13).In Papua New Guinea, Wamiran men and women define gender th rough their relation to taro a food that is considered both nutritionally and symbolically to be of great significance. Taro plants grown