Browsing by Subject "women"

The concern of healthiness reflects the Western idea of food and today's eating habits. Especially women have shown to be the pioneers of a healthy diet. The ideals of eating properly are also gendered. Women are assumed to eat less than men. In Finland, the nutritional recommendations for how to eat properly have excisted for many decades. However, recommendations for a healthy diet are not always followed. Food is not only a daily necessity but it is also a source of pleasure. People enjoy food and they want to bring joy to themselves and to their close ones with it. On weekends there is often more time to cook and enjoy food. The aim of this study is to find out which factors affect women's pleasure eating and how women take and describe this kind of eating. Furthermore, this study aims to find out what kinds of delicacies women enjoy during their Friday nights. The data for this study is from the Finnish Literature Society's Folklore archives Ruokapäiväkirjakeruu Mitä söin tänään? 12 April 2013. The method of this study is qualitative, and the method of analysis is data-driven content analysis. The basis for this study is oral history, and the texts written by women represent narrative style. 42 women from the data form the research group for this study. (n=42) The study showed that the women's perceptions of pleasure eating were contradictory. Pleasure eating was seen as the counterbalance of normal food and it was generally considered unhealthy. Pleasure eating was perceived more positively when the person's diet in general was healthy. On Fridays pleasure eating was more allowed than on other weekdays. Out of all the delicacies the women were eating, chocolate and cheeses were the most popular. Overall the women tried to follow a healthy diet despite the pleasure eating.