Good food and the politics of bad Feeling:Shameful diets and their inequitable opportunities and outcomes

Abstract

Leveraging data from face-to-face interviews, self-narratives, and diaries that record household procurement habits, this paper examines shame in the context of discourses and practices that are said to support “eating well.” Building off feminist affect theory and the work of Sara Ahmed in particular, shame is conceptualized as having politics, which is to say, these intensities are presented as doing different things depending on the positionalities of the social bodies experiencing them. This study is important because it highlights shame as having both productive and destructive tendencies, depending on who is feeling it. It also highlights risks associated with dominant discourses and practices directed at “good” food. This analysis provides critical insight if we hope to build food systems that promote notions of health and well-being that are attuned to justice, equity, and inclusivity.