Andrew F. wrote:

Meat eating was definitely a theme here, more so than drinking alcohol which some female students admitted to drinking excessively. Natalie R. wrote that she eats more meat than most women she knows because she grew up in a family of boys and her mother always provided them with meat. Lysa F. said that when she was growing up and her mother was a single parent, they did not eat a lot of meat outside of the many pot pies they consumed. This changed, however, when her mother married. Her stepfather always wanted meat on the table, and so they had meat on the table.

Virtually all the women who discussed gender in their papers (a few failed to do so, possibly because they had concentrated on how religion or ethnicity influenced their diet and view of food) wrote how concerns about weight-particularly the effort to diet and prevent weight gain-defined and explained female consumption patterns. This was something that unquestionably distinguished females as a group from males. Numerous women mentioned a personal struggle with their weight, A few admitted to a past plagued by anorexia or bulimia.

Janet D. wrote:

Lysa F. wrote:

Lela B. commented:

Many of the female students were articulate in pinpointing the sources of the pressure to be vigilant in maintaining their appearance: mothers lecturing their teenage daughters about not getting fat, or the images of supermodels and TV stars, such as Courtney Cox, that permeate the media.

Male students often recognized that females were more concerned about fat intake than they. Todd S. said:

A number said that this was silly, but they understood the pressure there. This is remarkable given that various women said that they would not be so fixated on staying thin if men didn't constantly make comments that linked "gorgeous" with "thin." One female student, Michele M. said that this was all ridiculous and she feels it is wrong to think that thin is beautiful. In fact, she remarked that you can be a little overweight and still be healthier than someone who is the ideal weight or smaller. But she, like "millions of other girls" ate lots of salads and shunned red meats to avoid fat. In contrast, only a tiny sampling of male students indicated that they were watching their weight and were following a particular diet to lose pounds.

When students reflected on how they ate over the two-week period (recorded in their logs), many concluded that gender played no role. Some who saw its direct influence on others claimed that they themselves were the exceptions to the rule. Jennifer P. pointed to a couple of dinner dates she had over this period when she surprised her dates because instead of "picking at a salad'" the whole evening, she "cleared off her plate." She wrote, "as a culinarian you have to be open to the wonderful world of food."

It is important to note that male students were much more likely to argue that gender had no impact on their diet compared to females who more readily pointed out how their logs manifested gender. Korbee H. said that the differences between male and females that people talk about are just stereotypes that do not affect him-a typical college student (whose log showed high beer and fast food consumption).

In examining student logs, differences were discernible - as can be seen in the following logs:

The differences between the logs of these male and female students correspond to the characterizations mentioned throughout this project by the majority of students. The male students ate more food both in terms of quantity and diversity. One drank a good deal of alcohol as well. The female students ate less food and chose foods that were lighter and healthier. What becomes obvious, however, is that the generalizations of these students are the popular piecemeal ones that permeate American thinking about gender, which is itself often colored by stereotypes. Students did not provided any sophisticated set of rules to distinguish male foodways from female.

Gender differences in the logs were often minimal compared to the number of similarities that were found in the majority of student logs. Separate from the survey sheets and papers it was not an easy task to put the logs into two distinct categories of male and females. As you can see from the following two log entries (shown on overhead), one from a male student and another from a female student, they share a lot. Both students consumed brand name cereals, meat sandwiches, fast foods, snack foods, and sodas. Perhaps this points to more important influences on how these Americans eat - like class and lifestyle.

But having said this, we can't ignore that most students, especially the females, noted as significant particular aspects of their diets to state that gender differences were visible in how men and women eat and think about food. Only a few students bothered to comment on traditional gender roles tied to food preparation. Two female, Puerto Rican students said that in their tradition women were the cooks in the family. One male student said that although women's roles had changed considerably in the larger society, they had not changed yet in his family, to be topped by two female students who indicated that it was their fathers who had been the family cooks. Finally, another student, who is Greek Orthodox, reported that only women could dye the red Easter eggs and that it had to be done at a certain point in a woman's menstrual cycle. For the most part interest in these roles seems peripheral to the concerns of most of our students.

Ethnicity

Unlike gender and class (as will be clear below) not all of the students were able to identify their ethnicity. A considerable minority, about 20%, only identified themselves as "American" or "white." The majority of students portrayed themselves as having more than one ethnic identity. This seemed to be the case for most of the white students and about half of the black students (see above demographics). Ethnicity was discussed primarily as a matter of family history with only a few exceptions. These are some things which Richard Alba in his book, Ethnic Identity: The Transformation of White America, Yale Press (1990), told us to expect. But this applied to almost all the students, regardless of race. The fact that their assignment asked them to focus on themselves no doubt encouraged this perspective. Articles that they were asked to read, like Marvalene Hughes' "Soul, Black Women, and Food" (from Food and Culture, C. Counihan and P. V. Esterik (eds.), New York: Routledge, 1997: 384-401), reinforced this connection.

Most of the students spoke about ethnicity as something associated with older relatives, which could be parents, or grandparents, or even great aunts or uncles. For many, ethnicity seemed to have a sentimental but inconstant significance to them, often through only one side of their family. Ethnicity seemed to be a matter of traditions or memories that were important to the individual, but not always part of their day to day life-particularly not their life as a college student. It was not uncommon for students to write that their heritage meant a lot, but few took this any further to indicate how ethnicity manifested itself everyday.

Most did see the bond between ethnicity and foodways. This is not surprising given that we spent the term talking about the connection between food and culture. Many had a clear sense of which ethnic group they were not, by talking about what they did not eat. Comments like, "I don't eat bugs or goat's blood", "I am allowed to eat beef because I am not a Hindu", "I don't eat hundred year old eggs" abounded. Papers also included more introspective passages as the following from Kimberly A.:

She was not alone. Milagros F. talked about how she, a Puerto Rican woman, shared a whole cuisine with other people from that island - having a breakfast of cafe con leche and bread with butter, a lunch of boiled root vegetables and codfish, and a dinner of rice, beans, and a meat dish. Mahmuda A., an African-American student, wrote that she eats grits several times a week. Jalena D., an African-American student, said that chicken, mac and cheese, collard greens, yams, and cornbread are everyday foods for her, though she draws the line at eating pork products. Kris R., an African-American student, informed us that no matter what he ate, he added the spicy seasonings of African Americans. Jessica C., a Jewish student, said that when she eats at a fast food restaurant she always makes sure to eat a meat meal and avoid all dairy. Michelle M. wrote that as someone who was brought up in an Italian family, she valued the large family meal on Sundays. Jason M. admitted to being a "meat and potatoes kind of guy" and linked this to his Pennsylvania Dutch roots.

Students used their logs to show the connection. The student who wrote the following log (shown on overhead), a Puerto Rican woman, pointed to her late dinner on December 21 at 8:15 p.m. and its foods: cayos (beef tripe) with chorizo, chick peas, and ham hocks as signs of her puertoricanness. She also directed our attention to the tortilla and calamari stew she ate on December 22 as further proof. The student who wrote the next, a WASP male, said that his consumption of soda, a grinder, french fries, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, two hot dogs, and cereal, showed that he was WASP. He said that these foods are the everyday foods of the majority of Americans.

For many, it appeared that food was how they experienced their ethnicity. The few international students in the project seemed to express this. Students with African-American ethnicity, Puerto Rican ethnicity, and Italian ethnicity also strongly stated that their food is their ethnicity, particularly if the family was of a single ethnic background, rather than two or more (especially 'more'). So did students who lived in "strongly ethnic neighborhoods" where uniquely ethnic foods were always available. This was a connection they enjoyed year round.

In general, students of Italian heritage seemed to have the strongest sense of their ethnicity as a factor in their food habits. This could be because Italian foods are so identifiable and at the same time accepted within American cuisine as a separate way of eating from the rest of European cuisine. Italian cuisine is clearly perceived as a different way of eating. Students stressed the importance of hospitality in their families, of always offering food and drink, of using fresh foods (not Ragu), and of taking pride in the preparation.

But for a larger number of students from "melting pot" families, who also did not live in neighborhoods or regions with distinct ethnic foodways, it was the periodic holidays that brought out this ethnicity. Suzie R. wrote:

Many students with mixed ethnic backgrounds were aware of their varied ancestries, but have lost a sense of distinct ethnic foodways. Students of this group were likely to observe ethnic identity through food only for holiday meals if a parent or grandparent prepared a special dish of their heritage. Nick S., who was of Italian and German ancestry, said that over the past several Christmases he has started to pay attention to how his father's aunt prepares the Italian dishes, because he is afraid that this will be lost at her death.

For many students, ethnicity had something to do with their family but this was often vague or undefined. They recognized that ethnicity was important for many others in the U.S. but conceded that their families had been here too long for ethnicity to have any effect on how they live-and in particular, how they eat. Jennifer P, who identified herself as Irish, Swedish, and English, was typical when she wrote:

Consistently, students portrayed America as a society that has been a melting pot for people and cultures from around the world. Each ethnic group that has come to the United States has contributed something; although that 'something' was usually left unstated in the papers. American culture and cuisine reflect this history, as do their own families. Students said that they eat 'American' and, therefore, are American, so there was no surprise that their personal histories with food and their two-week food logs showed them eating foods common to all Americans - food that can be linked with many different ethnic groups. These students described their everyday food habits as "basic American," referring to dishes such as macaroni and cheese, roast chicken, hamburgers.

Jim H. wrote:

Fast foods could certainly have been added here. Logs indicated that many students ate fast food as often as four times per week.

Most students pointed to their log entries as proof that they are open to all types of foods and so open to the diversity that is America. One student, a woman who identified herself as Irish-German-Italian-Welsh, said:

Only one student, a white male, said that he was not open to everything-he did not like Soul Food. The expressed norm was that being an American meant that you eat foods from all over the world-albeit in an Americanized form. Nathan T. said, "I do eat a lot of Italian food, but it is more of an American Italian, American-style pizza, pasta with sauce out of a jar ".

Several WASP students pointed out how they were at home in America because no matter where they went they always found foods with which they were comfortable. Some students said that eating American means eating "Chinese, Italian, and Mexican takeout". Other students downplayed possible ethnic links by saying that their diet mirrored growing up in the South of the U.S. rather than being African-American or that eating pasta was the result of running in marathons rather than being a loyal son of Italy.

The logs themselves showed that except at the holidays, and this was not the general rule for most, there was little to distinguish the logs in terms of ethnicity (with a few notable exceptions). Even those who had made a strong statement that ethnic identity was important for them, often had logs that were largely Americanized. Ginger W. reported in her paper that she had a very strong sense of connection to the foods of her ethnic group. She talked about eating them frequently both at home and at school, and commented that you could tell her race simply by looking at the food log. But in fact, her diary provided little evidence of an ethnic way of eating. This is not to belittle the significance that some signature foods or combinations might have, but to point out that distinct ethnic diets were rare. Instead meals that might be recognizable as ethnic meals, albeit in an Americanized version, were not restricted to those who claimed that particular ethnicity but found across the spectrum. This was particularly the case with Italian meals. In fact, one of the most Italian-looking Christmas dinners came from the log of a Jewish student.

These logs demonstrated a "generic" Americanness in the entries:

There is an emphasis on meats, fast foods, snack foods, and foods that can be eaten on the run. The day to day consumption of these students shows little difference in what and how students ate.

Students often made some reference to American history and society as a sort of explanation for the sameness that they perceived. This perhaps could be taken as proof that the U.S. is increasingly a color-blind society where race-cognizance and politics of separation are less pervasive than many think - at least when we look at how this particular group of Americans is eating. But at some level, and this comes out in the students' discussion of the impact of class, this "food tolerance" may be due to the geographical mobility that going away to a university can entail and the college lifestyle of dorm food, cheap fast foods, and eating on the job (which for most of our students means eating at family restaurants).

Class

This particular factor was the easiest one for students to recognize connections with eating habits. Most pronounced the visibility of class in the lives of people in general, and many said that it was something that affects them as well. Almost all of the students identified themselves as middle class with a few who specified upper middle and fewer who said lower class or upper class. "Middle" seemed to be defined as living comfortably or having enough money to get by, having enough food while not being extravagant or eating out often. Jarod S. defined middle this way: "I'm in the middle of the road when it comes to class, my family isn't impoverished or independently wealthy. We fall in the middle class, two cars, 2.5 kids, a "typical" all American family. " Most described their diet as 'typical'. A smaller number of students talked specifically about coming from a poorer family or a wealthier family and the impact of that on their lives. While their definitions were often vague, they clearly connect access to sufficient and/or diverse foods, as well as the ability to eat out, to income level.

Many students defined the range of class distinctions from the perspective of their family histories, through their awareness of changed status within their own family over time, or by means of comparison to their observations about or experiences of eating with other families. The descriptions of particular class groups were rarely given by reference to income alone, but more often by brief descriptions of parents' jobs and education and by the students' own income and jobs.

In terms of food, "upper class" meant more money could be spent on the best quality and a greater variety of fresh foods and exotic foods; people of this group were thought to have more knowledge and experience of gourmet foods; eating out often was associated with class. Susan T. reported a high concern for appearance in her family, evidenced by plastic surgery and personal trainers-this also was tied into diet especially for the females of her family. Another student recognized his "typical" status by comparing his own experience to that of a friend whose family had a gardener and a personal chef. Wealthier students talked about the links between class and openness, appreciation, quality, and eating out. Nick S. credited his privileged background for his good fortune in being able to travel and experience many different cuisines:

Leia B., another upper-middle class student, noted the influence of travel in her eating habits. Natalie R, who also described her family as upper middle class, definitely connected her class with access to high quality foods and a willingness to try new foods:

Even students who defined themselves as "middle" acknowledged these characteristics as belonging to upper class food habits.

"Lower class" or "poor" meant constant worrying about how much is being spent on food, frequent use of money-saving techniques (buying generic brands, using coupons) and rarely eating meals outside the home. Students identified some food habits of their family as stemming from their parents' status when they were young. John R. (now middle class, both parents working) mentioned large meat portions and more beef preferred by his father who associated chicken with his own poor childhood. Robert L., whose mother came from a poor family with seven children, reported that meals were planned very carefully and that every food item was accounted for so that children were not free to take food for snacks. This habit of thriftiness was acknowledged as an important influence on his food habits. Todd S. said that even today his family puts cereal in their stockings at Christmas because when he was young, the family was not well off so cereal was the only treat they could afford.

Students' logs showed a surprising level of similarity in their typical middle class diets. Foods such as hot dogs, burritos, Chinese, and Italian food (both Americanized) are commonplace. Nathan T. described Cheerios, spaghetti, chicken dinners, and leftovers as staples of the middle class.

The most frequent distinction our students made was a repeated emphasis on the differences between how they ate at home during the winter break and their habits while at college. "At home" meant the refrigerator was always full; they could eat what they wanted when they wanted. Allison S. said it this way: "I can eat like a queen." The other characteristic of their eating habits at home was that they went out to eat often with parents or friends. Most were able to state clearly what "college life" means in terms of diet. At school they are trying to manage the demands of a full-time academic schedule plus one or more jobs. Both their limited income and demanding schedules posed limits upon what they eat. Those who work reported that they ate at the workplace because the food was free or purchased at discount. Several reported that they would eat better foods if they could afford them or that they would eat out more often. Their phrase "eat out" implies eating at a family-type or upscale restaurant, not fast food, which is considered by them as basic everyday food. Mac G. described her experience:

Many who live in the dorm have a meal plan. Just as many other college students complain about institutional food, our students frequently pointed out in their papers the lack of quality and variety in their diets because of the menus at the Commons. They take meals there because they have already paid for them and have no additional money. The food logs are consistently clear on this difference between home and school food habits. For most of the students "home" equals abundant, varied, familiar, and higher quality foods which are available to them because of their parents' income- "college" means not enough food, poor quality food, and definitely fewer choices since they have often have very limited budgets.

One notable exception to this pattern was from a paper by Kevin S. who described his family as borderline poor. In his discussion he notes that there was often not enough money for adequate meals, and his log does show that during the week at home he ate grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner several times. He noted that he more often eats well-balanced meals at school, that he eats better here than he ever did at home.

An important point in the students' discussions about class was the belief that their present status would change when they graduated and got a job in the real world. They expect to be able to eat better. Their understanding is that class is fluid. It is perhaps this element which makes it easier for them to identify class as a factor in their diets. Whereas they cannot change gender and ethnicity, and want to perceive themselves as individuals, not part of the stereotypical groups, they do expect to improve their socioeconomic status, and so do not feel so bound by how they describe their current status. This fluid class concept is perhaps the major way in which they identify themselves as Americans -they believe that individuals can improve their status through education and hard work. They see themselves as individuals more than as members of any class or group. They have been encouraged by their education to avoid stereotypes, especially those of race and ethnicity, and of gender as well. Those of mixed (melting pot) heritage have lost their ethnic identity. But in regards to class, they can both place themselves now and define where they expect to be after college.

More so than with gender or ethnicity, students were able to identify clearly the connections between their socioeconomic status and food habits. Their discussions demonstrated high awareness of the value given in our society to visible material signs of social status; they routinely perceived food, along with cars, homes, clothing, etc., as an identifiable class marker.

CONCLUSION

Culture and Food is a sociology of food course that asks students to consider how food is shaped by society. We spend the term looking at how people around the world use and think about food. This year we decided to offer a project in which our students would become the object of study. It was not enough for them to examine how social factors influence others but to reflect on how gender, ethnicity (and religion when it is tied to ethnicity), and class affect themselves.

What was clear from their papers was that our students overwhelmingly rejected an essentialist notion of social identity. Yes, gender, ethnicity and class do influence how people, especially other people, live as members of a particular society, but students did not perceive themselves as eating and thinking about food in ways determined by these three social factors. First and foremost, students see themselves as individuals in U.S. society where difference is the norm. When students look around they see these differences, but given how they interpret their own lives, these differences are understood at one level to be the result of many idiosyncrasies that exist among the millions of people who live in the United States. Individuality emerged as the underlying theme in their reflections about who they are and what they eat. This is a principle that our students seem to value. If there seemed to be some correspondence between the individual and the group patterns, it was because the individual had made a conscious decision to eat that way and just a coincidence that others did too.

On the other hand, students did talk about being 'typical', being like "pretty much" everyone else. And they said they eat "typical American foods." Their papers certainly pointed to patterns in how they eat and think about food. They were aware of many similarities between their own eating habits and those of most Americans. But they did not articulate this apparent contradiction between being "individual" and "typical" at the same time.

Students commonly recognized that gender affects diet; their differentiation of male and female eating habits followed popular characterizations. Men were more likely to say that gender had no real effect on how they ate compared to women. At the same time, although distinctions were made, there was no ranking of either, no sense that a diglossia of food exists-male versus female-just a statement that gender differences exist. Even when they admitted that they themselves ate like males or females, they saw their own eating patterns as individual choices

Ethnicity was most discussed in terms of family. This was not completely surprising given that the assignment asked them to focus on themselves. It also fits in with the work of anthropologists, like Richard Alba, who have argued that ethnicity in the U.S. has become a family matter. When Americans, white Americans in particular, think of ethnicity, they think more and more in terms of particular family members and memories rather than some larger link. Students rarely mentioned religion as part of their ethnic identity or as a determinant of their food habits. The strongest ethnic links to food were visible at holidays when family food traditions were remembered and perpetuated, or to particular signature foods that were most noted when the student went home over the winter break.

For day-to-day consumption from the logs (two separate weeks), there was little difference in how students ate - tied to the strong opinion of the many that "I" am open to all cuisines. This was often linked to ideas about American history and society. Students seemed concerned to show a color-blindness in how they talked about food. Their papers attributed little significance to ethnic distinctions. Even some who had obvious ethnic connections recast them in regional terms: Pennsylvania Dutch for German, and Southern for African-American. International students also ate in a recognizably American fashion. Compared to ethnicity, students emphasized the connections to gender and class.

Of the three aspects of social identity, class was the most widely recognized, the one that people had the least resistance in seeing a link to eating and drinking. This could be because acknowledging class does not clash with American norms for tolerance and diversity. Class seemed to be constructed as a temporary stage in a person's life. It is mutable and changeable. It is linked to development, just as are many things in the life of college students-a phase to be passed through. The students' reasoning is that no one is bound to class in the same way that they are to gender or ethnicity-things that we are born with. Students' logs did indeed show a surprising degree of similarity in how middle-class American college students are eating, given their common budgetary concerns and common background growing up in America at a time when fast food has become "basic" food and lifestyles encourage snacking and eating on the run. Their papers reflected their awareness of this common pattern, all the while maintaining the notion of individual differences as the most important determinants of their eating behavior. The common conclusion was "we're all different", but their logs were saying "we're practically all the same."

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