The Cooked Dinner Essay

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As a direct object, dinner is routine, habit, sometimes mundane and possesses a feel of familiarity. Dinner is such an ordinary event yet also means much more than the deed of purely eating. It has particular significance by virtue of the fact that in one fashion or another, we all do it, usually daily, while rarely considering the often invisible dynamics that differentiate it. Additionally, the meal we consume, our food choices, preparation and consumption, is a point of connection to our everyday bound up in cultural markers of gender, ritual and class. This essay will discuss the role of gender in relation to the cooked dinner and how the media reinforces our perceptions of gendered roles in relation to food. Secondly, the role of ritual …show more content…

66), there were certain requirements to consider a meal as proper; “ a mouth-entering utensil… a table… a seating order… meals are for family…”. Sitting down at the table for dinner as a family, is still perceived to hold value as a standard everyday ritual (Wilk, 2010). The rituals attached to this vision are different for every family yet all involve a certain level of social interaction. The perception of this cultural symbol as a reality, appears to still hold weight despite changes in society that suggest an increasing number of people are creating new normative rituals to suit the faster pace of their lives and their modern living. Numerous meals are eaten under the consideration of time poverty and the convenience that needs to be afforded to it; additionally, these are being consumed alone. For countless people, lunch is consumed away from the home, most days per week. It has become acceptable for post-modern families to miss eating dinner together at home due to erratic work schedules or sporting commitments. It has also become acceptable to consume your meal at a restaurant, an event which used to be reserved for special occasions (Osman, et al., 2014). The proliferation of all types of food outlets to service this increased demand for convenience and sustenance, alters our focus away from the rituals that have been associated with shared eating, the art of cooking and the social interactions that used to occur around the

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