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Food, Self and Identity

Authors:
Claude Fischler at French National Centre for Scientific Research and Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales
Claude Fischler
  • French National Centre for Scientific Research and Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales
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Abstract

Discusses the relationship of food to identity formation, arguing that it combines 2 different dimensions, 1 of which runs from the biological to the cultural (i.e., the nutritional function to the symbolic function), while the other links the individual to the collective (i.e., the psychological to the social). Two aspects of the human relationship to food are stressed: the omnivorous nature of man and its multiple implications, and the process of incorporation and its associated representations. It is argued that omnivorousness implies a fundamental ambivalence and that "you are what you eat" not only organically, but in terms of beliefs and representations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
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Social Science
DOI: 10.1177/053901888027002005
1988; 27; 275 Social Science Information
Claude Fischler
Food, self and identity
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... The need to understand both the biological and social aspects of humans is central to food studies (Fischler, 1988). The human and social sciences have deeply engaged in the domain of food, investigating the social construction of beliefs and representations about food and its consumption (Douglas, 1966(Douglas, , 1979, taste (Bourdieu, 1984;Grignon & Grignon, 1980), and culinary art (Goody, 1982). ...
... The human and social sciences have deeply engaged in the domain of food, investigating the social construction of beliefs and representations about food and its consumption (Douglas, 1966(Douglas, , 1979, taste (Bourdieu, 1984;Grignon & Grignon, 1980), and culinary art (Goody, 1982). However, fundamental issues such as the social construction of collective beliefs and representations about food remain underexplored (Fischler, 1988). ...
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... PARA LA INVESTIGACIÓN 190Además, la selección intencional permitió incluir a personas con conocimiento profundo de las tradiciones, garantizando datos significativos y contextualizados. Este enfoque es respaldado porFischler (1988), quien enfatiza el valor de los actores locales en la investigación sobre identidad alimentaria.Tabla 1. Participantes del estudio ...
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