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Relationship Between Food, Sex And Gender Related? Essay

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How are food (including drink), sex and gender related?
Introduction:
According to McAllister (2006) food and drink “must be viewed as part of a broader social and cultural context” (p. 281) in order to understand the anthropological and sociological meanings of food and drink within society. This essay will apply an anthropological and sociological lens to explore the relationship between food, sex and gender. It utilises examples from anthropological and sociological literature to further explain the relationship between food, sex and gender. This essay will focus how food and can be a marker of identity, and how food and drink express gender roles.
What is food?
According to Delaney (2004) suggests that food is not biological, it is cultural. The food that is consumed shapes culture and culture shapes food and intern shapes our identity (Delaney, 2004). Counihan (1999) agrees and suggests that food is a “product and mirror of the organisation of society…it is connected to behaviours and meanings” (p. 6). The way in which food is produced, distributed and consumed illustrates power relations, gender and sex within societies (Counihan, 1999). She explains that each society has a distinct food way which structures the community, personalities and families within the society (Counihan, 1999).
Specific societies that associate with class, caste, race and gender distributions, uses food as a tool to maintain these social systems. For example, Counihan (1999) uses India to show

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