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KATHMANDU, MARCH 14
The practice of placing foods into certain gender-based categories is rampant ina patriarchal society like Nepal's.
There are a large number of foods which are considered to be masculine or feminine. In our community, almost each and everything is stereotypically associated with the idea of gender, be it food items, clothing or daily activities.
You are expected to have or not to have a particular food just because you are a male or a female. In a male-dominating culture, if you break this assumption, your gender identity will be questioned. This supposition has indirectly made people believe that food also has a gender.
There is a long list of my favourite dishes. One of them is chatpate. I enjoy this food a lot and eat it almost every day.
Nevertheless, there is a frequently asked question (FAQ) that makes me feel weird. That is, oh!! Being a boy, you are eating chatpate? This is the question my colleagues frequently pose when they find me having chatpate on the streets. If we can make it, why can't we consume it? This is how I defend myself. It indicates that people have lots of misconceptions about the relationship between food and gender.
Especially panipuri, chocolate, dairy products, salad, sour and pungent dishes are often stereotypically linked to females.
If our society finds a male consuming these types of products, they are most likely to be teased, criticised and interrogated.
Similarly, we mock and laugh at the Aryans, and call them impure if we find them having pork and buff items. It spreads a wrong message in the society that food also has caste, gender, and even socio-economic status. It also shows the discrimination practised in our society on the basis of food preferences.
Besides the patriarchal belief system, sometimes certain genders used in food advertisements also may create a kind of psychological confusion among the consumers. For instance, if a girl is seen eating a particular product in an advertisement, this situation can create a misconception among the customers that the food is appropriate only for girls.
Undeniably, there are particular foods which can be appropriate solely for a particular gender. But the most important thing is, one should not be laughed at and made fun of just because he or she consumes certain food items. Because, food has nothing to do with gender. It does not have any caste as well. Food is neither masculine nor feminine. Anyone can enjoy their favourite food no matter which gender, caste and class they belong to.
What truly matters is, the food you consume must be healthy and hygienic.
A version of this article appears in the print on March 15, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.
