Gender, Class and Food Families, Bodies and Health [Hardcover]

Everyday foodways are a powerful means of drawing boundaries between social groups and defining who we are and where we belong. This book draws upon auto/biographical food narratives and emphasises the power of everyday foodways in maintaining and reinforcing social divisions along the lines of gender and class.

Julie M. Parsons Gender, Class and Food is a welcome addition to this literature. & this book demonstrates how foodways are shaped by gender and class. Written in an accessible style and incorporating a broad range of literature without falling into the trap of sociological jargon, it is appropriate for graduate and undergraduate courses in food studies and sociology. (Norah MacKendrick, Review of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Studies, April, 2017)

Concerned with examining food memories and the socio-cultural contexts in which these are formed, this British sociologist employs a qualitative method not often seen in food studies: computer-mediated communication. & Parsons solicits and analyzes 75 auto/biographical food narratives from individuals residing in the United Kingdom. & an important and timely read, a noteworthy contribution to the research trajectory set by DeVault (1991). (Michael Chrobok, Antipode, May, 2016)

Julie M. Parsons is a sociology lecturer, Associate Head of School (Teaching and Learning) and Deputy Director of the Centre for Methodological Innovations (CMI) at Plymouth University, UK. She has published in the areas of auto/biography, maternal identities, gender and contemporary food cultures, and food as complementary and alternative medicine (CAM).

'This is a remarkable, rich book, a solid use of grounded theory, a unique contribution to studies in gender, health and food studies [ ] A testimony to what food studies can teach us.'

-Barbara Katz Rothman, City University of New York, US

'I am in awe of the skill with which Parlc,