The Multi-avenued Circus ie. Topic Selection

Below is an article I read in Bitch Magazine, a non-profit feminist magazine which has been in production for about 15 years now. It speaks of the connotation of males & meat; and uses Epic Meal Time as an example.

Also how girls are portrayed when it comes to men and their food in the media.

Considering that the first term has passed and gone, the anxiety of not really knowing what I am researching is building up. I am stuck in this circus, of which food is at the centre. I circle round and round, and must select which avenue I continue down upon.

Here goes.

1) Food and Gender connotations—for example: meat & masculinity, chocolate & femininity. Along others such as females: milk, sushi, fish, vegetables, cheese, eggs and males: red meat, chicken, hamburgers, sausages, bacon.

• Fast food advertising appears to be directed more towards a male market.
• Males statistically consume less fruits and vegetables than their female counterparts.
• Cooking with veges makes others think you are nicer and a better cook (Brian Wansink)
• Even though they deny the existence of 'gendered foods', people still allocate a gender and stick to their gender specific foods.
• Exploring the preconceptions of foods in relation to gender. eg: milky coffee and sweet coffee, salmon vs. steak (even the doneness of steak).

2) Food and Happiness—Otago University food scientist, Tamlin Connor, found a correlation between increased fruit and veg intake and higher spirits the following day. Also repeated in a study in Canada for reducing anxiety & mood disorders.

• Depression rates in NZ are relatively high, esp. in young adults
• Males eat less fruit and veg compared to females. Why is this?
• Self medication through comfort foods, often sugary or fatty. Males prefer meaty & hearty, females prefer sweet.
• Emotional eating is taught from childhood.
• Disconnect with food. People appreciate things more once they know its origin.

3) Food & Tradition—Michael Pollan states that consumers are confused by the nutritional information saturation that often contradicts each other. We claim to know so much about nutrition; yet we are sicker than ever. Return to what your grandparents were eating.

• Dinner plates are looking less and less like they used to.
• Encourage people to connect with their heritage through food.
• Cultural & communal exploration, esp for 2nd generation immigrants who are distanced from their heritage culture.

What I want to do:

• Create a brand or brand something that is unbranded.
• Evoke emotions by appealing to sensory stimulation via interaction.
• Appeal to the gender opposite of the stereotype.