Women, Food, History: A Gender-Based Approach to the Subject

with Maria Giuseppina Muzzarelli

in ITALIAN WITH SIMULTANEOUS TRANSLATION

@ BRA – CENTRO ARPINO

The story of women and the story of food have been inextricably linked over the course of the centuries. This history makes it possible to understand many aspects of our present-day society. For example, how and why over time a relationship has developed between women and food based on its restricted consumption and on entrusting foods and potions with problem-solving powers. This can be traced back to ancient female rebellions against an unwanted fate, manifested through fasting.

It is also interesting to try to understand how men managed to maintain a position of prestige in the culinary field, taking on the roles of court cooks and great chefs and leaving to their wives and women in general the burden of preparing everyday meals. These and other issues can be reconstructed by looking back into the past.