"It's women's obligation:" constitutive elements of gendered domestic cooking practices performed by women from western Brazilian Amazon

Author(s)

da Silva Oliveira, Mayara Sanay ; Sato, Priscila de Morais ; Arceno, Mark Anthony ; Ulian, Mariana Dimitrov ; Unsain, Ramiro Fernandez ; Cardoso, Marly Augusto ; Scagliusi, Fernanda Baeza

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: FOOD CULTURE & SOCIETY; v. 25, n. 3, p. 21-pg., 2021-06-05.

Abstract

This article examines constitutive elements of contemporary domestic cooking practices among women who live in the urban area of Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre, Brazil. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 16 self-identified women and mothers, who cook at home at least once a day. Here, we offer an in-depth analysis of our qualitative data, having coded our interviews with attention to the elements of cooking practices (i.e., understandings, procedures, engagements, materials, competencies, and meanings). Our findings reveal that cooking practices are not only gendered but also play a vital part in the construction and affirmation of these Brazilian women's identity, as indicated by how they negotiate elements of their domestic culinary practices regarding financial availability (materials), time availability (procedures), sociocultural gender norms (competences), and aspirations and personal desires (understandings). Read from a feminist perspective, we conclude that tensions surrounding the performance of femininity occurred when buying food at the supermarket or participating in the practice of "comprar fiado" in small neighborhood markets; preparing menus to meet familial preferences; preparing meals quickly and with little effort; offering the best foods to her children and husband; and showing affection and appreciation to those they feed. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 19/00031-0 - Fat stigma experiences and how these are built thought the life trajectory of fat women before and after bariatric surgery: a study centered on ethnography
• Grantee: Mariana Dimitrov Ulian
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• FAPESP's process: 17/05651-0 - Ultra processed food consumption and feeding practices of mothers in Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre: a mixed-methods approach
• Grantee: Priscila de Morais Sato
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• FAPESP's process: 16/00270-6 - MINA study - Maternal and child health in Acre: birth cohort in the Western Brazilian Amazon
• Grantee: Marly Augusto Cardoso
• Support Opportunities: Research Projects - Thematic Grants