The Analysis Of The Article “Food & Masculinity In Dual- Career Couples” By Helene Aarseth & Bente Marianne Olsen

The Responsibility in the Kitchen

In today’s world so many positions that were male oriented such as being mechanics, welders, and owning multi-million dollar companies are all being run by women has opened up the question can women do more than just cook and clean? A research article titled “Food and masculinity in dual- career couples” written by Helene Aarseth and Bente Marianne Olsen their thesis goes to say “food preparation serves a good case for analyzing the interplay between cultural modernization and structural changes in the gender division of work” (Aarseth and Olsen 278).

This describes how cooking is no longer a female dominated position and how this change is contributing to the household and way of life. Aarseth and Olsen use two different research works to research off of them. The studies are trying to model real families that have a stable fixed income with full time jobs to share the work load. The studies have one parent going to work before the children go to school and the other stays and makes breakfast along with planning on what to make for dinner. That way the parent who comes home can start on the appetizers while the wife prepares the main course so it is more of a team effort in both of these studies. Olsen and Aarseth go on about there being three patterns that they observe in both studies. Each pattern describes how the cooking is shared and how men are enjoying being in the kitchen.

The first pattern is mentions “Women carry more merit in the kitchen because they are seen to enjoy cooking” (280). Meaning that even if the man cooks the meal and burns the kitchen to the ground he is still going to blame the wife because she is in charge of the kitchen. Next pattern is “he does it in his way” mentions the man cooking, but if he is tired can offer alternatives such as take out or pizza.

Finally the last couple interviewed said that it was a team situation meaning that both would cook. They found that cooking was more of a common interest for them and cooking brought them closer together. Food brings out the best in anyone because it has the power to change emotions, bring people together, and bring passion that is why cooking is not a gender role it is for anyone to learn and become a part of.

Works Cited:

Aarseth, Helene, and Bente Marianne Olsen. “Food and Masculinity in Dual-Career Couples.” Journal of Gender Studies, vol. 17, no. 4, 2008, pp. 277–287