Casual Dining
Bros Before Hos; The Guy Code is a piece in a book by Michael Kimmel whom specialty is writing about masculinity and males. The piece talks about how society expects men to be masculine, tough, concerned about how big their muscles are, etc. The author talks about how most men aspire to be manly and tough and strong. "Never show your feelings, never ask for directions, never give up, never give in, be strong, be aggressive, show no fear, show no mercy, get rich, get even, get laid, win." (469)
You might be thinking, how does this article at all relate to casual dining. With the "Guy Code", certain questions relating society expectations and the food industry can be very easy to talk about and answer. Are there gender based foods? And are there societal expectations of gender in dining? Would guys prefer to eat at a sports bar with low quality food or a low-key restaurant with good food based upon the article we read? These questions are stereotypical questions that relate men to dining but it can share a lot of information and give a lot of insight.
"Yorkie bars, Nestlé has always told us, are "not for girls". They are to be growled from their wrappers and chewed in mouth-sized chunks by manly men, men with stubble, men with muscles that bulge like bellies. Flakes, however, are for ladies. Sexy ones, in lipstick and baths, who crumble off a feminine bite, before letting their eyes fall closed in pleasure." Says Eva Wisemen from The Observer. This shows that in society, there is in fact "gender based foods." Although that there is really no such thing as food that is specifically designed for just men or just women, there are standards and norms for foods that a guy would typically eat vs. food that a girl would typically eat.
"To Jenny Moon, the whole business of giving menus to women before men, taking orders from women be'fore men and clearing women’s plates first just didn’t make sense, not in the East Village in 2008". Frank Bruni wrote this article in 2008 about the restaurant called East Village in New York City, an upscale place to eat where upper class citizens tend to dine. The waitress believes that when she serves, she thinks everyone's plate should be cleared at the same time in an equal manner, instead she was trained to always make sure the women were taken care of first. "The gentlemen don't care where they eat, as long as they get food in their bellies. It's the women who care about what type of restaurant they attend and dine at". This was the message Bruni got when talking to dinee's at this restaurant and it shows that men tend to care less about the establishment they dine at compared to women.
To conclude, Bros Before Hos; The Guy Code, in my opinion is pretty accurate with society and casual dining. I believe that in the food industry, there are certain expectations i.e, men eat more food then women, but for the most part there is not certain food designed for men or designed for women and that all food is meant for all people.
Bruni, Frank. "Old Gender Roles With Your Dinner?" The New York Times. The New York Times, 07 Oct. 2008. Web. 25 Sept. 2014.
Wiseman, Eva. "The Truth About Men, Women and Fiood." The Observer. The Guardian, 16 Oct. 2010. Web. 25 Sept. 2014.
This makes me think of every time I go to a restaurant. If I was to order a salad my friends would most definetly give me shit for it. But if I was to order a steak they would even think twice about. It's just interesting to see "food biases" in society.
ReplyDeleteYou did a really good job with this. You did a really good job with introducing the reading that we did for class. You talk about "girly foods" and with working in food service there are definitely treads when it comes to what foods a guy will order and what foods a girl will order. For instance at Panera Bread the broccoli cheddar soup in a bread bowl is a "white girl" food.
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