Gender + Food = ?
Throughout my journey on why food has become so gendered, I never thought I would learn so much. There are so many aspects that come into play as to why men and women are eating what they’re eating today. With so much information I’d like to sum up some ideas I came across that dealt with how food has become so gendered.
History
Throughout history, men have been the almighty powerful, the breadwinners, and the hunters of the family. From the beginning of time, men have foraged for meat and provided their families with the best game they could find. Women were the ones who cared for the family, who cooked this meat that the men would find, and offer up her own portions so that their husband and children could eat. This caused malnutrition in women, they became more fragile, and ate less. This has passed on to PRESENT TIME. Women are always known to eat less or smaller portions. This ridiculous fact is sad, women should eat whatever they want to eat in whatever size portion they want. Especially in present time, when women are becoming CEO’s and becoming the bosses of the “almighty” men. Men and women should not let history tell us what to eat and how much of it. Men and women all need the same nutrients and proteins to keep us stable, so why does the past come to play in the future of how men and women are eating?
Media/ Advertisements
The biggest part to the gendering of food was the effect of the media and advertisements on what each gender ate. On the radio, the television, and even the labels of food, they are creating this normality of what each gender should be eating. Heck, there are foods in the grocery store that basically sell itself to men and women, such as Hungry Men or Skinny Cow Ice Cream, just to name a few. Of course women want to eat ice cream that won’t make us fat. Shouldn't the men as well? This globalization of how men and women are portrayed to eat is messing with our heads. Men won’t order the spinach salad but order the rack of ribs, and for the women, vice-versa. These food advertisements are literally feeding into gender stereotypes. Since advertising and media is so frequent in our lives today, it is easy to play into these roles. We are so influenced by the internet and what the media says that we don’t even question WHY the women are eating the salads and the men are eating the steak. This may be the biggest and most common idea as to why we eat the food we eat.
Genetics/ Hereditary
The most interesting idea that came into the role of gendered eating was the genetics of males and females. Men and women’s genetics are biologically different, and this could be why we eat so differently. Different genes respond to different foods, and since women and men share different genes, this may be why we prefer different things to eat. Heredity can also be to blame for the way we are eating, passed down upon generations, the diets each consumes is different. This causes our genes to grow in multiple ways, and every person won’t have the same growth. It was found that men and women also share contrasting senses of taste. Women were found to prefer sweeter while men prefer more bitter tastes. The nutritional needs of each gender could be a main reason why we tend to eat different foods from one another.
Putting It All Together
As much as I’d like to have a clear conscience and have one main reason as to why food has become so gendered, I cannot say that there is one. All of these factors come into play quite equally, making it hard to place the blame on just one. Overall, I learned that it is important to stay healthy. Each gender needs their fair share of proteins, fats, carbohydrates, and etcetera, no matter what media or history tells us to eat. So women, eat that steak! And men, eat the salad! Because no matter which of these aspects might come to your head while eating something you might not usually eat, we all make our own decisions in the end. It’s your own body, so fill it with whatever food you may want.
