“Hey woman, go to the kitchen and make me a sandwich.”
"I'll take a footlong turkey with Swiss."
Hold up, males. Celebrity chefs Emeril Lagasse, Mario Batali, or Guy Fieri would probably make a much better sandwich than I, or most any other female, could make you.
“A dude making another dude a sandwich? Awkward.”
Not awkward at all, actually. The culinary world is, in fact, a male-dominated field. The male-female ratio in culinary schools is 7:3. I am not sure how today’s society got so swept up in the “women-in-the-kitchen-make-me-a-sandwich” comment, but males, ironically, are the ones kicking ass in the kitchen and they’re proud of it.
Food Network’s TV show Iron Chef America is one of my favorite shows to watch. For those who have yet to witness food competition at its finest, top chefs dubbed as “Iron Chefs” go into a 60 minute head-to-head competition with a challenger chef. The challenger chooses the iron chef of their choice to go against, and they incorporate the “secret ingredient” into the dishes they prepare. Judges and food critics taste each of the chef’s foods and determine a winner.
Iron Chef America's host reveals the secret ingredient
The famed iron chefs featured on Iron Chef America include Mario Batali, Bobby Flay, Masaharu Morimoto, and Michael Symon. It was not until 2005 that the first and only female iron chef -- Cat Cora -- was named. So far, she has a 63.2% winning streak, which is a pretty significant statistic for the 4’11’’ culinary queen. Cora was also the first female chef to be inducted into the American Academy of Chefs Culinary Hall of Fame as a Celebrated Chef in July 2012. The criteria to become an iron chef is undefined, but it clearly seems that you have to really prove yourself in the culinary world to become one. Years of experience and being skilled and creative are probably just the basics of becoming an iron chef, and Cora has made it on the same level as males.
Cat Cora puts on her game face
For those who say, "Men don't cook," think again. Food Network celebrates food, and viewers and fans of this channel probably do not realize that most of the shows featured, besides Iron Chef America, star male chefs. Cat Cora stands out more in the culinary world and can prepare food in a face-paced competitive environment and win against her challengers -- just like the male iron chefs. From the points I have made, cooking is a male role. Gender roles have never been etched in stone, and no one role has to be designated to one sex. So it is more normal than you think to see men in the kitchen wearing an apron and making a mean, hearty, and delicious plate of food.
So, guys, the next time you ask your mom or a female friend to make you a sandwich, you're probably better off making one yourself if you really convince yourself that you're an iron chef. You belong in the kitchen as much, if not more, than females.
Abigail,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your post and I think you make a very interesting argument! Sometimes, people automatically connect a woman with the role of being at home, cooking and cleaning for the family. But, as you have shown, this gender role cannot be associated with women as men have been seen to take on this role more than women.
I think using Cat Cora was a great example to show how she is defying a norm. According to these popular television shows, men are supposed to be the ones in the kitchen. This is even shown in their winning records. Cat Cora shows how usually, women do not win. In 2005, Cora was named the first and only female iron chef. This shows how it is usually a mans job to be in the kitchen! Cora was also the first female chef to be inducted into the American Academy of Chefs Culinary Hall of Fame as a Celebrated Chef in July 2012. This further shows how women are usually not associated with cooking as much as men.
I think your post is very ironic in the sense that many view society as seeing the women in the kitchen cooking for the family. Your post shows the opposite and is showing how women actually should not be in the kitchen and if they are, they are going against the norm.
Abigail,
ReplyDeleteBeing a male I found this article very interesting. The male society isn’t used to women being able to provide for the family as much as we can. In our minds the men go out to work and make the money while the women stay home and cook and clean. But in todays’ world a lot of family’s have both parents working so the idea of a woman in the kitchen isn’t possible. You blog was a great eye opener to show this concept.
The male to female ratio was a great stat to add to your paper. I would have never guessed that there were 2x more males in culinary school then females. Another point that you showed in your paper that was shocking to me was that the first female iron chief didn’t appear until 2005, and not only that late in years but she is still the only iron chief to win the show. I’m surprised that there aren’t more females in the Culinary Hall of Fame, or more female chiefs trying to become Iron Chiefs.
After reading your paper I don’t think I will be using the phrase “make me a sandwich” as much, but I honestly can’t see myself in the kitchen, no matter what the statistics are, so hopefully I find a women who is in that small percent of female cooks.
Aj Williams
Dear Abigail,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your post! I am a huge Iron Chef fan as well as a dedicated viewer to the food network and other cooking competition shows. Finally someone has attempted to tackle the issue of why women have, for so long, been associated with the kitchen and cooking. It is incredible to see how far the culinary field has come where now the field is primarily dominated by male chefs. I thought that you proposed a great argument and used great support. In fact, on one side of my family, the men will primarily do the cooking as they came from italian roots. Recipes have trickled down front he great grandfather and the men in my family take great pride in preparing a meal the exact way they were taught from previous generations.
It always blows my mind to see how many cooking shows highlight male chefs. Guys like Emril, Bobby Flay, Anthony Bourdain and Geoffrey Zakarian dominate the culinary world and i bet no one has eve demanded them to make a sandwich or made a joke about them being in the kitchen .Unfortunately , these gender roles have shaped these phrases like "go make me a sandwich" to demean women but now that the culinary world is seeing an influx of male chefs, i think it's time these gender roles are updated. Men absolutely do belong in the kitchen and cook just as well if not better than women.
Jake Rudolph
As a women, I thought this post was insightful and an extremely accurate depiction of society. It is true that, though men do a great deal of cooking; women still get the brunt of the stereotypes associated with it. I think this may hold true due to the fact that the idea of The Nuclear Family, where the mother took care of the house and made the meals, was not too long ago. Most of our grandparents lived in the era where the kitchen was “a women’s place” thus, explaining the lasting stereotypes found in society today about women and cooking.
ReplyDeleteHowever, though women often are often associated with the kitchen, as time has moved forward, it seems that men cooking is also more revered than it ever has been. Beyond the examples you gave about the prestige of being a good chef, I have seen many instances in the media, which depict the benefits of men being able to cook. In movies such as such as, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and, Ten Things I Hate about You, there are scenes in which the lead male cooks an elegant dinner for the lead female in order to woo her. Here, cooking is seen as extremely masculine, and supports the new up and coming notion that cooking isn’t just for women.
I for one am an awful cook. Whenever my boyfriend and I make anything besides spaghetti, or omelets, I am pretty much banned from the kitchen so I don’t mess anything up. The idea that men today, “belong in the kitchen” as much as women do, is entirely true, and though many of the old stereotypes still exist, society is breaking slowly breaking them down as time goes on.
Though I thought this post brought up a great point, I also think it missed the point of "make me a sandwich," which can have multiple meanings.
ReplyDelete1. Telling a woman "make me a sandwich" expresses dominance over her and belittles her until her identity is defined by her gender. Typically it is a comeback to an argument or said to shut someone up, completely disregarding what they said. For example, here is a way I've heard it commonly used:
Male: My opinion is right.
Female: Your opinion is wrong, and here is why...(valid reason)...(another valid reason)....(conclusion)
Male: Whatever, go make me a sandwich.
It is a last resort when males have nothing else to say. By referring to gender roles, they are bringing up the stereotypes associated with being a woman - being irrational and emotional are some of the most prominent ones. He is basically saying that the woman is only fit for the kitchen, making meals for the family. A simple task you only need common sense and a cookbook to do (supposedly..I suck at cooking regardless)...which brings me to my next point.
2. Telling a woman "make me a sandwich" expresses a belief that she belongs in the kitchen...AT HOME, not in the professional realm. The males you mentioned are not just good cooks - they are powerful head chefs and also businessmen. A lot of the top chefs on Food Network own their own chains or food products . There is still very much a stigma that women do not belong in this professional field. Head chefs are expected to run the kitchen with an iron fist - something that women are not typically expected to be able to do.
I would say that the Food Network is still very much sexist. The chefs are either marketed as sex symbols or family women. My Mom and I always make fun of Giada because she wears extremely low cut shirts and bends towards the cameras constantly. Paula Dean and the Barefoot Contessa are always making things for their families. There's a show on which the male and female chefs are supposedly married (I hope they are in real life because they are adorable), but he is always working the grill while she prepares things.
Abigail-
ReplyDeleteYour post is making me hungry! While reading your post I was immediately reminded of my own situation in the kitchen. For all my life, I’d been afraid to cook and frankly didn’t see the need for me to cook anything having my mom always around to “make me a sandwich”, even to the point where I still ask my mom to cut my bagels in half for me, a seemingly mental block against my place in the kitchen. With that being said, this past summer I was all geared up for an internship at an accounting firm when the company fell through and I naturally lost the internship position a week before my planned start. With limited options on the table, I got a job at a family friend’s restaurant, a South Philly cheesesteak shop called “Pudge’s”. Little did I now I would be the head chef of the restaurant in a mere three weeks. While I was never motivated to cook at home or even think about preparing a meal for myself, when I was faced with the obstacle of cooking meals for hundreds and hundreds of people daily, I soon realized that I could indeed cook. So why was I always hesitant or not interesting in cooking? Through my summer experience I realized that the kitchen is not a naturally a place for women but a self-constructed stereotype that invites women into the kitchen and portrays it as socially odd if a man develops a liking to cooking. While I am glad more and more males are entering the cooking lifestyle, I will still look to my mom when I’m hungry, whether that’s stereotypical or not.
Thanks for the read!
-Brennan
Abigail,
ReplyDeleteI love that your post was able to explore gender roles in American society through something as simple as "make me a sandwich". Contrary to other comments, accusing you of missing the point of the saying, I feel that you did hit the mark, and these points were inferred.
Personally, I worked in a restaurant this past summer, and despite any prior knowledge in the kitchen, found myself quite at home. I think that its not much a sexist thing, as just people stuck in there ways, furthermore, I think its kind of sad that anything we say can be construed as sexist or racist. I would like to say that I fully understand that the saying, "make me a sandwich" has become completely sexist, and I understand that but I also think that the concept behind it was conceived in tradition, not sexism.
Very interesting read!
ReplyDeleteOddly enough, I am currently enrolled in Classic Civilization 101 and we addressed this topic in a past lecture. In pre-Neolithic Revolution times, men were the designated hunters and women were the designated gathers, primarily because of physical characteristics associated with each sex. But even as technology advanced and gender specific roles faded away, stereotyping has persisted to exist in society, which is frankly unacceptable. People ought to be defined for who they are and what they do, not for their physical characteristics.
Sexist stereotyping has no place in modern society and it is one's civic duty to rise above it and truly appreciate people for who they are, not for the physical characteristics they possess. In this case, it is extremely odd that females maintain this stereotype because the culinary industry, as shown in the post, is dominated by males, making this "make me a sandwich" stereotype even more irreverent. Hopefully society will progress to a point where these stereotypings are completely ousted and people are judged for who they are, not for the physical characteristics they possess.
Ben