Food and Femininity by Kate Cairns and Josée Johnston

Authors

  • Jennifer Braun University of Alberta

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15353/cfs-rcea.v3i2.184

Keywords:

gender, feminist studies

Abstract

Driven by a central question—“why do so many women care so much about food?”—Cairns and Johnston investigate the contemporary contours and connections between food and femininity, detailing the diverse ways these two things intersect and emerge in women’s lives. Their research is done in a Canadian context where, they argue, food is used as a standard to judge a good mother, a responsible caregiver, a discerning consumer, a healthy woman, and an ethically minded shopper—standards that are not easy to achieve, particularly if time and money are scarce. Nowadays, given that food is so central in the lives of many North Americans, the increasing consumer concern over the unsustainable nature of the current food system, and the intensity with which feminine food standards are applied to women, this book is both timely and timeless, and illuminating for anyone interested in food and gender.

Author Biography

Jennifer Braun, University of Alberta

Jennifer is a PhD student in the Department of Sociology at the University of Alberta.  Her current research interests include: the social construction of motherhood, childhood health, and childhood obesity in developed nations; and the role of rural farmwomen and heirarchies of power in the production and distribution of food (particularly in the Western Canadian prairie provinces).  Her current supervisors are Dr. Mary Beckie and Dr. Ken Caine at the U of A.  When she is not busying studying, Jen enjoys cooking delicious food, biking, swimming, and spending time with family.
close up photo of a raw Atlantic oyster in half its shel

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Published

2016-12-15

How to Cite

Braun, J. (2016). Food and Femininity by Kate Cairns and Josée Johnston. Canadian Food Studies La Revue Canadienne Des études Sur l’alimentation, 3(2), 239–241. https://doi.org/10.15353/cfs-rcea.v3i2.184

Issue

Vol. 3 No. 2 (2016): Forming and Informing Transformation

Section

Book/Art/Event Review

License

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