Masculinities in the context of cooking and foodwork Social Essay

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Masculinity in the Context of Cooking and Foodwork
Cooking and food form one of the most gendered socio-cultural signifiers in society. The development of contemporary gender roles can be analyzed by how coking is viewed in society and how it defines masculinity and femininity. Studying the comparison between professional and domestic cooking and the portrayal of cooking in media and the associated masculine denotations offers insights on how both aspects (cooking and masculinity) influence each other. Social studies on the development of gendered foodwork have focused on different aspects of cooking to identify how it has evolved in its role as a masculinity marker. Historical, social, cultural, and economic influences play in foodwork gender orientation, as indicated in a plethora of studies. This literature review analyzes foodwork and masculinity by focusing on articles that elaborate on roles, identities, and formulation in the adoption of cooking by men. Factors contributing to male participation in foodwork like foodies, education, ethnic background, leisure, and economic status determine masculinity perceptions of individuals and society.
Cooking and Hegemonic Masculinity
The 20th century was characterized by gender equality progression with more balanced roles, including domestic and professional cooking. The association with feminism or masculinity was due to the disparities in education, employment, and the implicit gender ideology, which categorized men as providers and women as servers (Kremmer, 2000:234-6). Aarseth and Olsen (2008:281) note that traditional views of femininity have cemented the role identity around cooking, making it a female chore. Hegemonic masculinities and femininities help construct the notions associated with cooking as either professional, domestic, social, or personal foodwork. Szabo (2014:231) used the motivations behind men's cooking to identify the notions of masculinity associated with domestic cooking. In their research about rationalizing the family division of foodwork, Beagan, Chapman, D'Sylva, and Bassett (2008:655-664) found that hegemonic masculinity reasons like time availability due to unemployment, view of foodwork as women work, family care, and reduction of conflict still influence men involvement in domestic cooking. Although men's participation in foodwork is often associated with reducing gender inequality, the assumption of traditional roles in cooking even manifest in the household, professional, and social cooking where men incorporate other masculinity factors like exoticism, freedom, and appealing (Szabo, 2012:634).
Cooking and Non-hegemonic Masculinity
The discursion of hegemonic masculinity raised constructed masculinity associated with foodwork as it is associated with being macho and nurturing, showing the relationship even in contemporary society (Szabo, 2014:231). Nonhegemonic or hybrid masculinities are created to maintain the existent inequalities and exert male dominance through hierarchies' multiplicity (Nolen, 2020:327). The use of cooking as leisure is one way that role dichotomization is reinforced through foodwork as men adopt it out of convenience. In contrast, women still use the responsibility m...