The Framing of Social Class Distinctions through Family Food and Eating Practices

Abstract

Drawing on two qualitative studies which looked at diet, weight and health from a social class perspective, we use Bourdieu's theory of habitus to help explain the different food and eating practices undertaken by families with young teenagers. Whilst the families displayed considerable reflexivity when making decisions about what to eat on a daily basis, the analysis highlighted that everyday behaviours are still bounded by distinctions of taste, according to social position.The paper includes an examination of the relationships between different forms of capital and whether form or functionality is prioritised within families. We show the importance of temporal frameworks when interpreting classed food and eating practices.

Mothers on Display: Lunchboxes, Social Class and Moral Accountability

“…These guidelines were believed to be important for children's future physical health and cultural capital (Wills et al, 2011). Potential judgement could result if parents provided food items that were not allowed.…”

Re-Introducing Consumption to the ‘Circular Economy’: A Sociotechnical Analysis of Domestic Food Provisioning

“…It can also explain the stability of patterns of eating in a family context and family eating routines [59], as well as the difficulties faced negotiating new routines in the early days and years of marriage and cohabitation [60]. How we eat depends on how those around us eat, demonstrating that transition is no simple feat.…”

“Eating isn’t just swallowing food”: Food practices in the context of social class trajectory

“…These participants cultivated sophisticated palates in their children; such concern for children's culinary capital may distinguish the middle classes from the working class (Backett-Millburn, 2010;Gross & Rosenberger, 2010;Wills, 2011). Lowbrow foods were accepted, though often transformed with more exotic ingredients (Johnston & Baumann, 2010).…”

“…These parents also promoted cosmopolitan eating, striving to cultivate future social and cultural capital in their offspring. Working class parents focused far less on molding children's palates, with young people's food preferences seen as their own concern (Backett-Millburn et al, 2010;Wills et al, 2011). In contrast, Shildrick and MacDonald (2013) found people living in (often extreme) poverty in Northeast England discursively positioned themselves as healthy eaters, and other (less deserving) "poor people" as unhealthy eaters.…”

“…In Eastern Scotland, healthy eating was a major focus for middle-class parents' scrutiny of teen diets; cooking from scratch and avoiding prepared foods were priorities (Wills et al, 2011). These parents also promoted cosmopolitan eating, striving to cultivate future social and cultural capital in their offspring.…”