Paper Sample on Food and Sexuality

Introduction

Food and sexuality, a topic that unravels the correlation between the two. While several institutions focus on the correlations between food and ethnicities, however, the correlation between sexuality and or gender of a person and their specific food tastes. The few studies such as Manippa et al. (2017), Wardle et al. (2004) and Wansink et al. (2003) which have researched about food and sexuality/gender, have not extensively explored the topic but links them to ethnicities. The topic on the foods that men like more than women and vice versa has not been fully implored and explored.

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As a result, very little is known about the relationship between the two. I have identified several studies, but because of time constraints, I can only share a piece of evidence you today, but I am happy to discuss more during the Q & A section or after the panel. In today's conference talk, I will share some of the data I have gathered from the interviews and literature materials. These sources will help me explain why I think why there is no denial of a direct correlation between gender, sexuality and food.

Relationship Between Gender, Sexuality and Food

I am going to talk about the relationship between gender, sexuality and food regarding the interview findings and the literature material reviewed. During the interview, we measured a sample size with a survey asking questions ranging from "do you believe different sexualities and genders tend to like different foods'' to "What foods do you believe women like more than men" and vice versa. Upon measuring a sample size of 5 people, it was found that about three quarters of the research population does not believe that gender or sexuality has anything to do with food tastes. However, on the other hand, those same 5 people when asked to list which foods women preferred over men, they listed sushi. This is ironic because on one hand they believe gender has no correlation to food but on the other hand the same group mentions which food women and the LGBTQ+ prefer.

We have measured a sample size with a survey asking questions ranging from "do you believe different sexualities and genders tend to like different foods'' to "What foods do you believe women like more than men" and vice versa. Upon measuring a sample size of 5 people so far, about three-quarters of the research group doesn't believe that gender or sexuality has anything to do with food tastes. However, on the other hand, those same five people when asked to list which foods women preferred over men, they listed sushi. This is ironic because, on the one hand, they believe gender does not correlate with food, but on the other hand, the same group mentions which food women and the LGBTQ+ prefer.

Wansink et al. (2003) studied comfort foods which they defined as foods that trigger a state of psychological pleasure and comfort. In their study, Wansink et al. (2003) found that gender influence food choices and preference patterns. The outcomes revealed that males are more associated with meal-related comfort food, while females are more aligned to snack related comfort foods. However, people who ate meal-related comfort food felt healthier, compared to those who ate snack related comfort foods (Wansink et al., 2003). Hence males felt healthier than females who also felt guilty. In another study, Wardle et al. (2004) established that females dislike food rich in fat but like fibre and fruits than males. Besides, the authors found that males fail to limit the amount of salt intake but female limit. The findings of the study reveal the differences between different gender and their choice of food. According to Manippa et al. (2017), male and females respond differently to food cues. The researchers established that males prefer low-calorie foods than females. The study linked the gender differences in the choice of food to right posterior in feeding behaviour.

Complications

Although Wansink et al. (2003) found a relationship, it investigated the comfort foods only and did not establish the reason for the differences but only speculated that it could be due to social and personal identification. While pointing out to the limitations of the study, Wansink et al. (2003) highlighted the need for more research focusing on developmental environments to unravel the associated experiences and personality identification that trigger the differences in preference pattern between sexuality. Wardle et al. (2004) only evaluated four food choices, and the study was not concerned with the cross-cultural differences. This reveals the need to study more food types and also identify if the cross-cultural differences affect food choices between gender.

Wardle et al. (2004) allude that they did not carry out the study to compare diets between males and females; rather, they examined their food choice behaviours. This calls for more study to make a comparison between the diets taken by males and females. All the three studies, Manippa et al. (2017), Wardle et al. (2004) and Wansink et al. (2003) focused on young adults as the study population whose brain function and structure differ. Hence, there is a need to investigate the correlation between gender and food in an older population with developed and brain structure and function. With less study on the correlation between sexuality and or gender and food, there is a need to carry out a study that will link the two variables and a wide range of food choices.

Conclusion

As evident from the interview findings and the literature materials reviewed, there is no denial of a correlation between sexuality, gender, and food. During the interview, it was established that about three-quarters of the research population does not believe that gender or sexuality has anything to do with food tastes. Hence, this study will function to inform the population about the correlation between gender or sexuality and food. While many people perceive that there is no difference as established the interview, the study will change the discussions around the topic to involve the existing differences. People will also start associating certain eating habits and patterns to gender differences. Besides, the patterns of various diseases related to the diet will now be linked to a certain gender. This study is correlational; hence, future the study would bring new questions on what causes the difference hence triggering the need to establish the cause of the differences between sexuality and their relation to food. My time is up, but I would be happy to field the questions and discuss more in Q & A.

References

Manippa, V., Padulo, C., van der Laan, L., & Brancucci, A. (2017). Gender differences in food choice: Effects of superior temporal sulcus stimulation. Frontier Human Neuroscience, 11, 597.
https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2017.00597

Wansink, B., Cheney, M., & Chan, N. (2003). Exploring comfort food preferences across age and gender1. Physiology & Behavior, 79(4-5), 739–747.
https://doi.org/10.1016/s0031-9384(03)00203-8

Wardle, J., Haase, A., Steptoe, A., Nillapun, M., Jonwutiwes, K., & Bellisie, F. (2004). Gender differences in food choice: The contribution of health beliefs and dieting. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 27(2), 107-116. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15324796abm2702_5.