Food ritual observance and gender dynamics in informal settings

¶ … Food Ritual Observance - a Prescribed Formal Behavior

Food ritual observance took place June 7, 2007 during a snack break with friends on campus, following an intense study session. There were four participants total, two males and two females. The foods consumed included a croissant, biscotti, an apple and a bag of trail mix. The time the study took place was 1pm in the afternoon. Students reported having eaten a late breakfast, at 10pm. The environment was casual and relaxed. Participants were dressed in jeans, t-shirts and other casual affair. The women had make up on, very minimally but noticeable.

What role did the participants take on?

The male participants seemed to take on a dominant role during the snack break. They initiated conversations, which the two women followed up on, responding in turn, contributing as one might expect. This correlates with Flynn's analysis of food ritual behaviors, which seem to suggest patriarchal relationships are often reinforced in food-related customs (Coen Flynn 84).

What role did you have as a participant?

In this study, I served as a participant observing the role or food ritual, by being a distanced observer and a participant. Even through the simple act of attending the food ritual, I became a participant. I sat approximately two table away from the participants observed in the study.

What is the larger context for this event/ceremony?

The larger context for this event is evaluating how peers interact during a casual or informal food ritual, in this case taking a break from studying to enjoy 15 minutes of informal banter. Even more specifically, the context is observing how females and males routinely interact during informal food rituals such as this.

Where is the event taking place? Describe the context.

The event is taking place in the student lounge on the main campus. There are several vendors available, including a coffee shop. Several large couches are available for students to study comfortably. The context suggests the participants were in a comfortable environment where they felt they could easily express themselves naturally and without inhibition.

What are the stereotyped sequences of activities involved?

Turner also described ritual as "a stereotyped sequence of activities involving gestures, words, and objects, performed in a sequestered place, and designed to influence preternatural entities or forces on behalf of the actors' goals and interests" (Turner 1977a:183). In this case, the "stereotyped" sequences of activities involved included the males talking more loudly and boisterously than the females, and initiating more of the conversation. The women at times during the break would talk with one another on subjects different from that of their male counterparts. The women sat close to one another, while the males had more space between them; the women seemed more comfortable being "near" each other than the males.

Can you apply the concepts of taboo and mana to activities, objects, and actions observed?

Women seemed more reluctant to eat higher fat foods, one consuming an apple for example and diet coke, whereas the men were more likely to not guard against eating "forbidden" or taboo foods or mana. The males exhibited more freedom, perhaps an expression of cultural norms that seem to emphasize how important it is for women to be skinny. While the men tended to devour their snacks without a second thought, it seemed clear the female participants picked their food and ate less than their male peers.

Assignment #2 Commodity Chain Analysis

The food item selected for this commodity chain analysis is trail mix. Trail mix is a common "snack" food eaten by people and comes in many forms, including a mixture of nuts, raisins, seeds, dried fruits, and sometimes now chocolates or other sweet ingredients. A commodity chain analysis helps assess food as a product of political and economic processes (Kendall, 2007).

Commodity Chain Overview

This commodity chain overview helps explain the processes involved in moving product from the producer, manufacturer and distributors to individual consumers. By understanding this process, one can better understand the factors influencing consumer buying behaviors and other behaviors associated with use of various commodities.

The commodity chain analysis represents a traditional pattern of transference of product to consumer. General Mills Inc. tends to follow a pattern common to most manufacturers interested in increasing their economic value and taking advantage of the market at hand by advertising their products in a directed way. Trail mix is a food that many view as, "healthy" or, "energetic" or, "quick and easy." These concepts can be quickly integrated into their political and economic systems to help them market their commodity to a larger population.

Assignment #4 Findings

This study focused on food ritual observance, commodity-chain analysis and symbolic systems to gain a better understanding of how societies form belief systems and function together. Critical to anthropology, this field study assignment reconfirmed the relevance of participative observation in understanding culture and the reasons for human behavior, taboos, interaction and even political and economic belief structures.

This hands-on exercise revealed that food ritual observances are still common in every-day society. Anthropologists have much to gain by observing food rituals, which can lead to greater insights about societal taboos, cultural beliefs and accepted practices (Coen 2005; Roark 2007). The ethnographic work presented for this class suggests it is critical for anthropologists to examine and observe societal habits and rituals in an effort to ascertain patterns and provide a "systematic description of a culture based on firsthand observation" (Roark 2007).

In studying the commodity chain for the trail mix product, I was able to observe and measure directly and indirectly a total phenomenon, the rules through which it operates, and see the broader context in which food is supplied and marketed to consumers, contributing to cultural idealisms, as suggested by the readings of Immanuel Wallerstein.

Much of the ethnographic work conducted by researchers and presented in the class concentrated on the links between ritual observances, commodity chain analysis and symbolic system analysis. These analyses help: (1) define culture, (2) recognize patterns of behavior among members of a given culture, and (3) provide an analysis of the political and economic influences food and other commodities have on human behavior. In completing this assignment, I can now link each of these important areas of analysis to the study of human behavior.

The simple act of observing students engaged in informal discourse revealed much about stereotypical beliefs that still exist within the American culture, including patriarchal themes and the idealisms of women vs. men. The commodity chain analysis revealed how simple it is for a company like General Mills Inc. To influence consumer's attitudes and beliefs toward foods and food products. The way products are marketed to consumers can directly and indirectly influence their beliefs and cultural norms. Take trail mix... It is an energetic, "idealized" snack food. This comes primarily from the target populations the manufacturer focuses it is marketing. Other channels for influence include consumers looking for "quick" fixes, such as families looking for fast and fun food. It would be interesting to explore the link marketing of "fast" snack products such as this have on families with young children, and compare this with the influence the product had on the political and behavioral habits and beliefs of the college students consuming it.

Lastly, symbolic systems help us better understand how products are systematically introduced and marketed to consumers. This helps shapes attitudes and beliefs. Also important to note however, as learned in class, is whether societies tend to accept or reject certain items even if marketed well. For example, Roark (2007) noted that in many cultures certain foods or animals are taboo. Consider for a moment what influence this might have on the General Mills snack market, if trail mix or energy and convenience foods were considered "taboo." Given this, one might assume that no matter the types of advertising or merchandising the manufacturer engaged in, it is likely that the product would ultimately fail.

What this field study revealed was that a complex combination of factors influences human behavior and culture. Interactions, behaviors, food selections and economic choices made by manufacturers to produce food products are all impacted by an integrated system. Symbolic relationships exist between all of these components. For an ethnographer to truly understand the meaning of behavior and cultural beliefs, he or she must examine the influence of an object, such as food, in not just one context, but in many contexts. Anthropologists can truly come to understand the history of a culture, and changes globalization and other factors have on the culture being examined when they do this.

A found most interesting about this study the first part of the assignment, the ritualistic food observations. In this setting, given the limited number of participants, it is difficult to judge whether the behaviors demonstrated were unique to students, or behaviors that are deeply ingrained and the result of gender or even biologically-based factors.

To help better understand the patterns of behavior I observed, including the seeming "patriarchal" hierarchy of conversation and behaviors noticed I would have to observe the same students in multiple settings. Some questions to ask might include, "How would the females interact in a group of their peers, women only?" Also interesting would be an assessment of whether behaviors and interactions changed when group members met, conversed and ate with their family members compared with their peers. It is likely under these different environments I would notice distinct changes in behavior, though it is possible behaviors would remain the same. This would suggest that behaviors are more deeply ingrained than I initially believed.

The research conducted in class suggests that while subtle differences may be present in different social settings, largely people tend to act and react in similar ways if brought up in similar cultures. Given this, I might assume that gender does indeed play a significant role on one's actions and behaviors. Secondary to this would be the influence of economical or political factors, including commodity chain analysis or the manner in which producers marketed and packaged their products to sell to consumers.

This study has helped me better understand how ethnographic analysis is conducted, and how influential field work assignments can be to understanding complex human behaviors and the interplay between behavior, societal norms and even environmental factors.