Introduction: Feeding an Identity- Gender, Food, and Survival, by Norma Baumel Joseph, is an introduction to a book of individual essays and short stories that focuses on the importance of food in religion and gender studies. Joseph begins by stating that not only is food necessary for survival, but it is significant in defining cultures.
The introduction focuses first on religion, specifically Judaism. Joseph discusses that food is at the core of every Jewish ceremony and celebration in the form of rituals and dietary restrictions. The author mentions that in studying the effect of food in religion, the focus is on the rabbis who direct eating restrictions, not on the women who cook and prepare the food.
In the past, it was believed that women belong in the kitchen, and caring for children, so they were all the same. Therefore, it was unimportant to write about them. Now, with women being equal to men, the study of food includes women and their important roles in the process of food production. Joseph explains that women “control and maintain Jewish life through food”.
After explaining the importance of food in religion and gender studies, Joseph begins to introduce the essays and stories compiled in the rest of the book. He states that there is a variety of essays about a variety of topics that reveal new insights on old ideas, or new ideas about an old topic. The author explains that the essays focus on topics such as women’s importance in the past as compared to now (in relation to food), food in a biblical setting, and food’s importance in religion, specifically Judaism and its evolving food customs.
(Actually, the article is an intro to a journal collection, but that's a minor detail!) I would be careful about stating that the cause for the journal's studies is because women are only now equal to men, since Joseph also explores the ways in which women always already had some form of power/authority in the kitchen. Good job overall though.
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