Ok, so I'm just bored at work, and I'm thinking to myself "hmm, what should I make for supper?" So I decided to visit one of my favourite websites (www.allrecipes.com) that is full of yummy recipes that are all posted and reviewed by people from all over the place. But, what I found interesting was how many female users were on this website. Also, on the main page, there is a helpful section entitled "Kitchenistas" which has pictures of 3 women who are going to help you organize your pantry, make a meal plan, and cook meals that will keep your family happy. It is designed in such a way as to appeal to mother, the woman of the household who is responsible for the bulk of the domestic work. This website (and others like it) is perpetuating stereotypes of femininity and works in such a way to keep women safely contained in the sphere of domesticity.
Contrast this website to another one entitled "Man Tested Recipes" (http://mantestedrecipes.com/) where almost every recipe on the main page has to do with meat (and lots of it), or using alcohol in the recipes. Don't forget that these recipes are "manly", and should be made when your watching the game on t.v and drinking beers with the guys. My favourite quote from this website was "You bring the beer. We'll bring the recipes. And maybe chips" which clearly demostrates how when men cook, it's mostly about male bonding, as opposed to when women cook it is done in order to provide for her family.
Thanks for reading!
Keekers
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Who is suppose to be doing the cooking? what are the connotations of being in the kitchen? what forms of cooking are valued? are all very interesting questions that stem from the act of cooking.
ReplyDeleteWhat I have always found interesting is how cooking is often devalued when it is done in the home, by a woman, but how it is revered when it is done in a fancy restaurant, by a chef (predominantly men). It is also interesting that chefs make great money versus the unpaid cooking that is done in the home, most often by a stay at home mother.
I think that the observation that you have made holds true to so many things...in the past women were most often the healers until medical school was instituted and women were disallowed to attend or how women make up the majority of teachers that teach younger children vs. how men make up the majority of university professors. The devaluation of what is considered "women's work" occurs frequently.
An excellent documentary on the devaluation of women's work is called:
Who's Counting? by Marilyn Waring
Which you can watch here:
http://www.nfb.ca/film/whos_counting/
It is an interesting issue that women face. For many young women, it seems, the thought of being "stuck" in the kitchen is a horrifying idea. Citigroup has just created an ad that shows a woman remodeling her kitchen into a walk in closet because she never does any cooking (it's funny bc this ad just switches one stereotype for another). This ad has created a lot of questions around what it means to women to be in the kitchen. Here are a few articles addressing this topic:
Is Feminism Compatible with the Kitchen?
http://www.alternet.org/reproductivejustice/77084/
Citi Ad Aims at Gourmet Non-Cooks
http://www.nysun.com/business/citi-ad-aims-at-gourmet-non-cooks/70311/
And here is another article discussing the difficulties that women face when trying to become a chef:
Cooks vs. chefs
What does it mean to be a female in the kitchen?
http://www.culinate.com/articles/opinion/feminist_cooking
I think that your observation is just the tip of the iceberg, and it is a great example of the dichotomy between what is considered men and womens work and also how something is depicted if it is geared towards women vs. towards men.
Cool post!
Shadows Dreaming
This is an excellent portrayl of the pepetuated circle which keeps women in the domestic sphere of homelife. Most recipe sites are dominated by women and for women. Really... when you look at cooking aprons, are there many store bought 'masculinized' versions available for men??
ReplyDelete~Freddie Mercury~
I always get the feeling that when Men are put into those spaces that have been traditionally occupied by women (ugh) that they somehow get made to look like idiots. They are just portrayed as awkward...so they get brownie points for trying. I think that it is this type of image which is really helping to keep those dreaded binaries in place. Obviously being able to turn on an oven or operate a blender is not genetic..so why are we made to feel like it is. This type of thing can also be depicted when Women are found in traditionally male spaces....like the garage. You don't see many commercials of Women just outside changing the oil...and if you do, it is probably not done in the same way that a Man would be seen.
ReplyDelete***Looie***
This is really interesting... I thought about this when I was watching t.v. last night and this really bizarre commercial came on. It was about people singing about butter?? I don't really know why, but they were singing and dancing with this butter, I think for a contest or something. Anyways, the majority of the contestants were women, in their kitchen (no surprise), but there was 1 guy. Here's the catch though, he was a chef!! With a chef hat, in a professional kitchen. It demonstrates that women cook in the home, in the unpaid labour force, whereas men can become a chef, and earn a wage for what he does. It's interesting how that plays out, and who is valued and devalued. It goes back to what Shadows Dreaming was saying, just an example.
ReplyDeleteKeekers
This post got me thinking about the differences between men and women's cooking habits... I recently had a conversation with my man friend about baking. I personally love to bake and he told me that he is incapable of doing it because you 'actually have to measure things'. You can't just throw together ingredients and taste test; it takes a bit of precision and he can't stand that. He's a good cook, but its all about spontaneity and experimentation instead of precision. He also wouldn't admit that he likes cooking and would prefer if it was placed in front of him on the table!! This kinda highlights Looie's point that men are represented in a certain way in the kitchen that further supports women's place in the domestic sphere. Obviously this is really complicated, because some men are great cooks and wouldn't be ashamed to admit it... But I think the type of cooking is represented differently, and that the kitchen is often represented as a womanly space which supports the public vs. private dichotomy.
ReplyDeleteAubrey B.
Some great thinking here - a couple of thoughts: in response to needing to measure things in order to bake, it's interesting that chemistry, where measurement is crucial, is dominated by men - perhaps it's less the measuring than the context; and I found a gendered-male apron in the DC airport [and bought it for the hubby], it was the only one in the boys section, and it had the President's seal on it, with some modifications to include barbequing utensils.
ReplyDeleteWhich I think speaks volumes to gender representations and cooking.
The Doctor
My boyfriend happened to woo me with cheesecake. I'm proud of (and envy) his baking abilities because he has no hesitation in flaunting them even though it may encourage some to question his masculinity. For baking, I think you are either patient with measurements, or you're not. Same goes for sewing, my hack jobs are nothing compared to my boyfriend's finesse once behind a machine. I realize, however, that this is not the norm, it is in fact the opposite of the norm, which is why he gets such a kick out of being talented with these skills.
ReplyDeleteAnother interesting observation in the gendering of kitchens is in the professional realm of culinary arts. When I say Chef, do you think "he"? I think "head chef" has similar connotations to "doctor", they are often both associated as positions for men. Men in the kitchen can be bossy jerks (Ramsey, much?) but if a woman assumes the same role, surprise surprise, she's a bitch! How ironic that for a woman to excel at her her own "realism", the traditional domestic role, she so quickly falls into the same female stereotypes.
The fact that women are depicted as the PROVIDER when cooking is very interesting especially when men are usually the head of the household. Yes the women provides for the family inside of the home, but why do advertisements neglect to show how gender provides inside and outside of the home?
ReplyDeleteThe men that are cooking are cooking [meat] in order to bond with other men, while they are able to bring other bonding snacks/drinks. This is quite interesting, because ideally women remain linked to the home and her family, whilst the man is linked to connections outside of the home. i cannot even believe the way how we can easily deconstruct the gender division in online and television advertisements. this is a very interesting topic Keekers!
Aaliyah Jasmine