essay

Culture enters through the kitchen: women, food, and social boundaries in rural Greece

gender & power in rural greecePrinceton, N.J. • Published In 1986 • Pages: 195-214

By: Dubisch, Jill.

Abstract
In contrast to the general belief in Greece and elsewhere that pollution evolving from female sexuality and bodily processes are both indicators and reasons for women's subordination and inferior status in the society, this article takes a somewhat different approach to the oppositions of male/female, culture/nature, and purity/pollution by analyzing instead the ways that women function as controllers of pollution, both their own and that of others, and act as transformers of natural products (foods) and processes (food preparation) into cultural ones. Dubisch examines in detail the concept of body symbolism, the symbolism of pollution, and social boundaries and proposes a relationship between the body (particularly the female body), the house, and social order. To analyze this relationship the author explores the connections between pollution, boundary maintenance, the house and kitchen, the role of food, and the symbolism of the body (pp. 195-196).
Subjects
Gender status
Household
Purification and atonement
Ethnoanatomy
Sexuality
Gender roles and issues
culture
Greeks
HRAF PubDate
2003
Region
Europe
Sub Region
Southeastern Europe
Document Type
essay
Evaluation
Creator Type
Ethnologist
Document Rating
5: Excellent Primary Data
Analyst
John Beierle ; 2002
Field Date
no date
Coverage Date
not specified
Coverage Place
Cycladic Islands, Greece
Notes
Jill Dubisch
For bibliographical references see source 31: [Dubisch]
LCCN
86003183
LCSH
Greece