Introduction: Feeding an Identity- Gender, Food, and Survival Summary

In “Introduction: Feeding an Identity- Gender, Food, and Survival,” the author, Norma Baumel Joseph, discusses the relationship between food, gender, and culture, proving how food reveals cultural information. Joseph believes this is the case because food attaches an eater with tradition, identity, and memory. In this piece, while addressing the topic as a whole, she focuses on Jewish traditions as a main example by examining its relationship with community, religion, and gender. While traditionally women have been the ones preparing the food, they have not gotten much credit for how much food has impacted the Jewish community; Joseph explains that feminist literature and research should discuss all aspects of women’s lives, including the food preparation, especially since it was a large aspect of women’s lives at one point. Furthermore, she believes this preparation of food, and how women have shaped the food, should be recognized for shaping the culture, especially since food connects all aspects of our lives, such as tradition, personal meaning, the past, and the future.