Neoliberalism, Food and Women: A Narcissistic Culinary Culture?

Abstract

This paper aims to provide a critique of food cultures in the neoliberal era. I argue that neoliberalism has transformed the ways in which people consume food and the cultural meanings of food and eating. Food and eating have become sources of narcissistic pleasure that are usually accompanied by feelings of guilt and anxiety towards oneself and nature. Middle-class women in particular are engaged in this neoliberal food culture through the discourses of ‘healthy bodies’, ‘organic lifestyles’ as well as the ‘domestic pleasure of cooking’.