Cultural Identity and the Language of Food Essay

It is a known fact that every human being communicates through language, but perhaps a little known fact that we communicate even through the food we eat. We communicate through food all the meanings that we assign and attribute to our culture, and consequently to our identity as well. Food is not only nourishment for our bodies, but a symbol of where we come from. In order to understand the basic function of food as a necessity not only for our survival, we must look to politics, power, identity, and culture.

My cultural ancestry comes from a Cuban and Mexican decent. I have chosen to write about my Cuban side because I can relate to them more than I could with my Mexican side. I was raised around my Cuban family and would occasionally see my Mexican side due to them living so far away. I have spent a lot more time associating with Cubans and have adapted to more of their habits.

Food is a highly unique commodity, for though it is essential to every single person on earth, there is no other commodity which is acquired and consumed in such diverse ways. It is a multifaceted social instrument, serving to connect people across cultural boundaries while simultaneously drawing lines through society, dividing people across race and class. Though we have discussed the connections between certain alternative food movements and the creation of a ‘white’ identity, I contend that the social mechanisms of food extend beyond the production of ‘whiteness’, and are intricately bound up in the creation and perpetuation of other racial and class identities in Western society. As the ways in which we consume and engage with food

All my life people have always questioned my ethnicity. My mom says it makes me mysterious and intriguing. She says, "You look like you could be born in any part of the world". Any time I 'm in a crowd the question always comes up, "what 's your ethnicity?", "are you mixed with anything?”. I look at them and smile thinking in my head of course you just asked that. I give a big sigh and say "I 'm white and Pakistani". Some look at me with great confusion and ask, "What is that?" I hit them with a huge eye roll and I have to explain where Pakistan is located in Asia. I really think some people did not take World Geography because they 're still so lost. They usually just blurt with "oh, so you 're middle eastern?" It boggles my mind that

In Jessica Harris’s “The Culinary Season of my Childhood” she peels away at the layers of how food and a food based atmosphere affected her life in a positive way. Food to her represented an extension of culture along with gatherings of family which built the basis for her cultural identity throughout her life. Harris shares various anecdotes that exemplify how certain memories regarding food as well as the varied characteristics of her cultures’ cuisine left a lasting imprint on how she began to view food and continued to proceeding forward. she stats “My family, like many others long separated from the south, raised me in ways that continued their eating traditions, so now I can head south and sop biscuits in gravy, suck chewy bits of fat from a pigs foot spattered with hot sauce, and yes’m and no’m with the best of ‘em,.” (Pg. 109 Para). Similarly, since I am Jamaican, food remains something that holds high importance in my life due to how my family prepared, flavored, and built a food-based atmosphere. They extended the same traditions from their country of origin within the new society they were thrusted into. The impact of food and how it has factors to comfort, heal, and bring people together holds high relevance in how my self-identity was shaped regarding food.

Food is closely related to people's lives and it is considered the most important element in Chinese culture. Chinese food is famous all over the world too. American Chinese cuisine differs significantly from the traditional Chinese cuisine and even though the variation in taste can be so it is still attractive to many people. When it comes to food, Chinese people always care about the color, taste, smell and shape of Chinese dishes. In 1784, a group of passengers on the ship Empress of China became the first Americans to land in China and they were also the first group of people to eat Chinese food; it was the

Eating is a fundamental human activity, an activity that is both necessary for survival and inextricably connected with social function. Eating habits and rituals, the choice of dining companions, and the reasons behind these behaviors are fundamental to fostering an understanding of human society. Food not only distinguishes and represents a culture, but can also reflect one's personality, lifestyle, and socio-economic status. Food is used in different circumstances in life. In the movie my big fat Greek wedding there are three reasons for eating, which are physical needs, social need, and food symbolism.

In “Why everyone should stop calling immigrant food ‘ethnic’” the writer, Lavanya Ramanathan writes that referring to these foods as “ethnic” makes them appear to be more foreign than they are. Ramanathan states that describing the cuisine from foreign countries as “ethnic” seems to only apply to those “countries whose people have the brownest skin.” She goes on to say that she has observed that true “ethnic” cuisine is often looked down upon and considered low while “fusion cuisine”, combinations of American and an “ethnic” country’s food is seen as haute cuisine. Ramanathan tells that a NYU professor has discovered than people won’t pay more than $30 for ethnic cuisine. She also says that using “ethnic” signifies an air of inferiority when used and that while Asian and African countries get referred to as ethnic, European cuisine gets a pass from the Americans.

In growing up in the position of the ‘other’ in society, Smith provides an empowered stance of identity exclusively through the demonstration of cultural hybridity, as evidenced by Millat and his gangster crew, the Raggastani’s. As Millat becomes increasingly connected to a swaggering identity highlighted by Western popular culture, his sense of belonging becomes established with the multicultural mix of South Asian and Caribbean teens he hangs out with: “It was a new breed, just recently joining the ranks of the other street crews. Becks, B-boys, Nation Brothers, Raggas, and Pakis; manifesting itself as a kind of cultural mongrel of the last three categories. Their ethos, their manifesto, if it could be called that, was equally a hybrid thing” (193). Here, Smith uses the Raggastani’s as a symbol representing the emerging identity of a multicultural London transformed by the migration of formerly colonized populations from South Asia and the Caribbean. Their mission, to put the “invincible back in Indian, the Bad-aaaass back in Bengali, the P-Funk back in Pakistani” (193), is about taking their identities which have been devalued in Western society and linking them together through a collective sense of approval. As a productive example of cultural hybridity taking place, they are a direct contrast with the forms of difference and racial purity that the Chalfen`s represent, and the resistance of letting go of traditions that their parents uphold. The group tries on a series

When considering food as a part of my identity, there are multiple components that make up who I am. It is a mix of family heritage, experiences, and personal preferences, which all culminate together to form my food identity. While some might see their food identity as one culture, concept, or idea, I see my food identity as a variety. This variety consists of what foods I like and the memories associated with them. Specifically, my memories and experiences with my family have contributed to what I believe to be my food identity.

Food, has a specific meaning to all of us; for some it is a form of nourishment, for others it is a cultural act,

Ethnic identity manifests itself in almost everything we do in one’ day to day life. It can influence how one acts, what one eats, and how one communicates. In particular, festivals are important phenomenon because festivals can display many characteristics of ethnic identity. In the area of my hometown of Batesville, Indiana, a particular festival takes place bringing the whole town together, in conjunction with tourists, to celebrate the large proportion of German heritage comprising the area. However, the primary research questions I wish to explore with this festival is, first, how inclusive is this festival to outsiders not fitting the ethnic group celebrating their heritage and those who are not from the town? Second, what is the main motivation behind celebrating the town and its German-American heritage and if there are any other identities that are celebrated as well? To attempt to answer these questions, I have conducted an interview with an older fellow resident of the town, named Clay Kellerman, who will be able to provide insight and put the present-day festival in greater context in relation to the festival as it was when it began about 40 years ago. Being able to have interviewed Mr. Kellerman, who has seen the festival at its beginning and now in the present-day will be an invaluable resource. Additionally, Mr. Kellerman fits the ethnic group who celebrates this festival and his family has lived in the area since they arrived from Germany back in the late

Sleep, sex, and food are the three most important aspect of a human life. Each of them represents resting, reproducing, and surviving – essential elements that form the foundation of human culture and society. The status of these elements always represents the social stature and cultural ideology, of the desire or dislike of people. Some standards are universal, while some are uniquely formed through generations of different cultural traditions. Food in this case might be the most simple and yet the hardest ideology of desire for anthropologists to catch. Its meaning is never as plain as a recipe of a cooking book, but always attached with the cultural and psychological ideology that is connected with individual and cultural identities.

Racism exists at all stages of the food system (production, consumption, and distribution of food). We must look at the racial construct of the country if we wish to understand the current U.S. food system and the racism involved (Billings & Cabbil, 2011, p. 111). Structures and systems such as food production, education, and healthcare were created by and for white people, thus giving them a major advantage in society (Billings & Cabbil, 2011, p. 110). With time, powerful corporations became dominating forces in the American food system. They grew to dictate much of how and what we eat. White, middle-class consumers have little say in this system, but they still, very much, benefit from products and services as such things were mostly catered to them. In contrast, poor and racialized people have even less power and do not experience the benefits experienced by white people (Billings & Cabbil, 2011, p. 104).

This paper will discuss the multifaceted relationships among food, and culture. I will be looking at the relationships people have with food, and explore how this relationship reveals information about them. Their food choices of individuals and groups, can reveal their ideals, likes and dislikes. Food choices tell the stories of where people have travelled and who they have met along the way.