Abstract
Historically, food only represents a means of bodily sustenance, providing nutritional benefits to the consumer. This paper discusses food refusal in non-western cultures where there is masked history of self-starvation embedded in cultural experiences that prompt individuals to resist the socio-cultural and political bodily oppression. In applying cross-disciplinary concepts, this paper critiques the orthodox representation of food and introduces fundamental themes such as attitudes, beliefs and behavioural pattern which influences relationships with food. A dimension dealing with the complex issues of food engages in practice of association of the well nourished or fed body as desirable and more appealing. For instance, a long-standing tradition of the Efik tribe in Nigeria guarantees that a woman is sent to the fattening room, where she is isolated from her village, removed from any physical activity and made to eat as much as she can against her will. The process is also associated with ensuring her hips are broadened for reproduction. The female body therefore implies desirability; her value is in being a suitable pick for a wife, vessel for reproduction and catering to the needs of the man. The body then becomes objectified; weight loss or weight gain remains adapted to the self-serving interests and control of the male gender. Food refusal for these women within a cultural repressive environment is regarded as a sign of rebellion against established misogyny. A new feminine ideal of beauty is created by consciously adapting the thin body as a feminist symbol of liberation, emancipation, and control.
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Food Polices, Politics, Cultures, Self Starvation, Food Refusal
