Food and Gender: Making the Modern World argues that food and gender sit at the center of human experience, and that using this lens shifts the markers of modernity away from traditional perspectives that emphasize war, political states, and the global economy, that exclude and marginalize women or that trivialize the study of foodways, to create a new periodization for modern world history.
The volume emphasizes features that are usually sidelined, such as changes in household organization, home cooking, female labor, and the family, sexuality and childrearing as among the most powerful forces at the heart of modern history and centers the history of foodways within this. Taking a narrative that considers feminist perspectives as well as tracing the impact of "masculinities," the volume restores female agency to the "food in world history" story. Chapters trace themes that look at the embodied history of foodways, focusing on aspects such as the role of accumulation and exchange, desire and power, and revolution and conflict. They also address the impact of migration, technology, and "difference." Together these thematic explorations show how contemporary patterns of abundance and scarcity were created over time. Candice Goucher also shows how the relationships between gender and food have served as markers of cultural, racial, social, national, and sexual identities and thus reflect the differences and disparities that have shaped our common history. The book explores the major themes of world history and puts women, gender, and foodways at their center.
With different global examples for each theme, and many illustrations and photographs, this is the perfect guide for anyone wanting to find out about the gendered implications of the history of food.