Acts of eating : the everyday eating rituals of female farm workers of color in the Western Cape

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In this qualitative study the significance of the everyday eating rituals offemale farm workers of color in the Western Cape is explored. Eating and itsassociated activities are understood as embodied, social practices that aremeaningful and meaning-making. It aims to address the gap left bymainstream psychology's scant attention to the subject matter. Furthermore,it is an endeavor to steer away from the dualistic path trailed by mainstreampsychology's following of traditional western philosophical thought. Assuminga social constructionist approach, six transcribed interviews were analyzedusing the grounded theory method. Three main themes are extracted fromthese texts: knowing, agency and community. The ritual of preparing foodinvolves embodied knowing, which enhances the women's impressions oftheir capacities as transformative agents. This sense of agency is performedthrough other acts of eating within relational contexts. The link betweeneating rituals and notions of community is thus introduced, which opens thespace to revisit the positions of women in the sites of the family and society.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University