ComAlt, Sarah Williams.
Seminar Response Paper, Wk 7.
Zoe Wright.
2/21/17.
Tompkins Chapter 4.
“When, late in the first novel, an ‘improved’ and ‘Americanized’ Fun See comes to dinner, he attaches himself to Rose’s overweight Aunt Plenty, ‘whom he greatly admired as the stoutest lady in the company; plumpness being considered a beauty in his country.’ The desire for not-thin and therefore ‘unfashionable’ women is clearly stereotypical, and both Fun See and Aunt Plenty, as well as Annabel, are sent up via the text’s burlesque tone. Fun See’s fatness – and his desire for fatness, for indeed Annabel Bliss is herself called ‘plump as a partridge’ – is wielded against him as a mark of his lack of conventional western manliness.” (Tompkins, 141.)
“’I’m not breaking any news to say that race and culture have been at the forefront of the discussion lately,’ Pashman said. So, he thought, ‘maybe we could have a different approach to that conversation by starting with food.’ . . . But, as some see it, the alternative to simply asking that question—is this food racist or not?—would be taking a closer look what’s at stake. Who stands to lose or gain from that assessment? And what are the solutions that might advance us toward greater equality and justice in the food arena?” (Erway, 2016)
I chose the lines from Tompkins because it made connections to the racialization of beauty and attraction, as well as to the idea that certain body types are undervalued or somehow less civilized. This connected to a lot of conversations around body positivity, body stereotyping, and representation of beauty and bodies in media. It also references masculinity and western ideals, and these also connect to much larger conversations on masculinity, performance of gender, bodies, ideals, and the value that’s attached to certain cultures’ ideals. I find these intersections and connections really dynamic and interesting to study because of the many different variables that influence them.
I chose these lines from an article about food, race, and cultural appropriation because they were speaking about the connection between food and race that seemed really appropriate to this study. I included the second piece from the story because it’s talking about privilege and what factors influence and impact which people’s lives, and it hints to the discussion in the article of who is allowed to have these types of conversations – about food and race and appropriation – and who isn’t, and who should be and whether the discussion itself was appropriation in a way, or whether it was taking away space from people of color who should get equal air time when they discuss these topics.
I thought this was a really interesting quick look at the dynamics at play between food, race, and appropriation, and it was so fitting to the course I had to include it.
Referenced Article:
Erway, C. (2016, March 31). Searching For Real Solutions to Food Appropriation. Retrieved February 11, 2017, from http://civileats.com/2016/03/31/beyond-talk-the-search-for-real-solutions-in-the-conversation-about-food-and-cultural-appropriation/