The Importance Of Dinner

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Dinner can be such an ordinary event yet also means much more than the act of purely eating. It has particular significance by virtue of the fact that in one fashion or another, we all do it and invariably daily, whilst rarely considering the often invisible dynamics that differentiate the act. 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, class and ethnicity. The origins of modern Australian cuisine are based on our firstly British heritage which involved a focus on roasted meats such as beef, lamb, pork and chicken and a limited vegetable consumption (Lupton, 2000). This British foundation of what constitutes the “cooked dinner” (Murcott, …show more content…

In generations past, the division of labour within the home was quite definite; men were the breadwinners and a woman’s place was one of good wife and caregiver. In this caregiving role, dinner was predominantly prepared by the happy wife/ mother and deemed as a necessity for the health and well-being of her family; a task performed with love and concern (Swenson, 2009). Whilst this division of labour within the home is no longer as rigid due to changing values and an increase of female participation in the workforce (Shapiro, et al., 2009); from 40% in 1979 to 65% in 2011-12 (ABS, 2012); arguably gender segregation within the home still exists as women are still largely executing the caregiving role within families and the home, in addition to paid work, creating a time poverty (Osman, et al., 2014; Evans, 2011) that impacts on their ability to provide a proper meal. This gendered application is supported within the media; most chefs …show more content…

Our individual food choices are not independent of our cultural traditions and these are steeped in our social group relationships. Finkelstein (1989) asserts that a preference for favouring red meat, ample portions and simplicity of food choice such as meat and vegetables, implies a working class status. Mohr and Hosen (2013) expand on this assertion by adding the need to eat economically in order to sustain physical labour. Similarly, both also linked experimentation with ethnic and exotic food to those of higher class and education levels. The familiarity of the image of the family all sitting down to eat dinner together suggested an opportunity for those of the middle class to teach about family life and manners (Murcott,

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