How does food relate to your experience of gender and/or religion?

Women and Food 

A woman is the foundation for me and my household. Women must clean, cook, do laundry, take care of the family, instill traditions and make new ones. Women keep the family connected and help create the memories we hold so dear to us. Women in my family are the foundation that keep you moving and one of the ways they do this is through food. Everyone has an all-time favorite dish they love that either their grandmother or mother makes. For me foods like banana pudding, candy yams, chocolate pie, pasta, lasagna etc. … are the foods that always bring back to such wonderful memories especially around holidays. The process of crafting these dishes with your family are such wonderful memories to hold on to. Everyone being in the kitchen together helping create a certain special dish. The smells filling up the room. The woman talking loudly and laughing. Talking as if they have not seen each other in years. Ignoring the stereotypes, and their daily duties that they will again repeat for the one millionth time this year. Happiness in the air.

The work of women often goes unnoticed on an everyday basis. Think about how often you come home after a long day eat and then go to bed. Do you once consider the amount of hours going into just one dish, and the cleanup afterwards? While you continue on with your day, she remains in the kitchen, working and working. Preparing for the next meal and so forth. For me, it’s the small things that hold everything together. The small things that go unnoticed like the setup and the presentation are all things we often overlook but, are some of the things that if they were not perfect we would remember. Women are at the forefront of stereotypes. But, within these stereotypes women have found a way to express themselves even if it is just trough food. Food is at the center of our universe, it’s what we need to survive. It’s the one thing that can cheer us up when we are down and make a good memory and even better one. Food is essential for our life but we must not forget the people who spend hours and hours crafting these memories and famous dishes for us. We owe our thanks to them.