Habits and orders of everyday life: commensal adjustment in Anglo‐French couples

Abstract

This paper examines processes of habit reshuffling and change in different contexts of household formation, looking specifically at habits regarding eating and commensality. It is based on a study of 14 couples, each with one English and one French partner, half of whom live in France, half in England. We examine the interplay between partners, their determination to eat together as a couple, and the various 'orders' associated with their commensal pact (diets, routines, extra-marital commensality), both when they start as couples and as parents of young children. We draw on the specificity of cross-national couple experience to cast light on processes of adjustment - to one another, and to the new country of residence for the migrant partner. In particular, we explore the potential of notions of 'split' and 'solid' 'patrimonies of incorporated habits', 're-shuffling' of habits and dispositions, and 'habit memory', to characterize the dynamics of habits at play in each of the orders under scrutiny. Overall, the paper contributes to the analysis of habit as the 'stuff' of orders of everyday life.

Consumers' perceived value of healthier eating: A SEM analysis of the internalisation of dietary norms considering perceived usefulness, subjective norms, and intrinsic motivations in Singapore

“…Existing research has emphasised the importance and complexity of influences that contribute to the development of consumers' healthy food choices (Cao et al, 2020; Crawford, 1980; Kelly, 2016; Mete, Shield, Murray, Bacon, & Kellett, 2019; Osman & Nelson, 2019). These investigations exposed situations that lead to consumers' choices (Darmon & Warde, 2019; French et al, 2019) and how these are influenced by various stakeholders, including policy makers, manufacturers, marketers and retailers (Elms et al, 2016; Turnwald & Crum, 2019; Wang et al, 2018). Beyond the research explaining the intentions toward healthy food consumption, we respond to calls for more prescriptive investigations showing the drivers of day‐to‐day eating behaviour (Blythman, 2014; Herz, 2017; Peschel et al, 2019; Renner et al, 2012) by proposing a more detailed understanding of the PV of healthier eating as an innovative behaviour.…”

“…The intention to eat healthy has a long investigative history with a myriad of underpinnings, such as biological needs (Gibson, 2006; Osman & Nelson, 2019), individualisation of health (Hakola & Tolvhed, 2018; Pelters & Wijma, 2016), household situations (Darmon & Warde, 2019), resources (French, Tangney, Crane, Wang, & Appelhans, 2019; Sproesser, Klusmann, Schupp, & Renner, 2015), access to stores (Cummins & Macintyre, 2006), skills (Wolfson, Leung, & Richardson, 2020), choice and retail restructuring (Elms, Kervenoael, & Hallsworth, 2016), manufacturing process, traceability, labelling and regulation (Hawkes et al, 2015; Thanem, 2009; Turnwald & Crum, 2019), and marketing promotion and communication (Festila & Chrysochou, 2018; Wang, Liaukonyte, & Kaiser, 2018). Indeed, healthy eating research stresses many factors, with most leveraging cases of specific Western consumers (e.g., seniors, teenagers, individuals with allergies or particular medical conditions, etc.…”

Assessing Time of Eating in Commensality Research

“…Three studies involved comparisons of routines over two cultures, one regarding French-British couples [35], the other two the cities of Santiago, Chile, and Paris, France [36,37]. The interview study on French and British couples revealed that the timing of dinners appeared to move against the temporal preference of the country of residence.…”

“…Two studies compared results from commensality in different countries, with surveys in Santiago, Chile, and Paris, France [36,37]. Another study interviewed couples originating from France and the UK [35]. These types of cross-cultural studies are of immense importance in the current international community and can also be used to further understand differences between nationalities and ethnic groups in regards to meal times and related to commensality.…”

The Project Collection Food, Nutrition and Health, with a Focus on Eating Together

“…Moreover, commensality has been a central concept in contemporary contributions to the sociology of food, where commensality is studied as a phenomenon that manifests both social change and stability. Examples of this are the everyday eating in Nordic countries [15], eating out in England [16], time-use in Belgium [17] and the Netherlands [18], meal synchronization in Santiago and Paris [19], meal arrangements among Britons [20] and the habits and orders of everyday life among Anglo-French couples [20,21].…”