macho macho man
A new research article suggests that men* are highly apt to make "gender-congruent" food choices. Though there are "feminine" foods, women are not nearly as likely to choose a signifying food over what they would simply prefer to eat. A woman is as likely to eat a burger as she is a salad.
It's a fascinating observation, since eating is indubitably tied to health and survival. Is there a belief (true or culturally imagned) among men that a signifying diet will improve the chances of achieving the evolutionary imperative (i.e., sex)?
But it's also interesting to try to square it with critical notions of privilege. In the strictest sense, it appears that women possess the privilege--unquestioned choice without social consequence--on this matter, which is very very unusual given all the social constructions and pressures vis-à-vis women and food in our culture. Are there other outlier choices like this, and what does it mean?
*I don't have a subcription, so this is based on an abstract and reaction article, but I assume the study focused on Americans or at least Westerners, based on the signifying dishes, e.g. yogurt v. steak.
ADDEUNDUM: Via some good thinking it out in the comments, I realize that it is quite possible that the privilege in question is in fact the ability to choose the "least worst" option. Sociologically, it's still privilege per-se (not to mention being party to other forms of privilege, e.g. being so food-secure that one *has* a theoretical choice) but that doesn't mean it's a great stride for equality, just an interesting point.
It's a fascinating observation, since eating is indubitably tied to health and survival. Is there a belief (true or culturally imagned) among men that a signifying diet will improve the chances of achieving the evolutionary imperative (i.e., sex)?
But it's also interesting to try to square it with critical notions of privilege. In the strictest sense, it appears that women possess the privilege--unquestioned choice without social consequence--on this matter, which is very very unusual given all the social constructions and pressures vis-à-vis women and food in our culture. Are there other outlier choices like this, and what does it mean?
*I don't have a subcription, so this is based on an abstract and reaction article, but I assume the study focused on Americans or at least Westerners, based on the signifying dishes, e.g. yogurt v. steak.
ADDEUNDUM: Via some good thinking it out in the comments, I realize that it is quite possible that the privilege in question is in fact the ability to choose the "least worst" option. Sociologically, it's still privilege per-se (not to mention being party to other forms of privilege, e.g. being so food-secure that one *has* a theoretical choice) but that doesn't mean it's a great stride for equality, just an interesting point.