Food For Thought
I was reading a Cracked.com article about sexist stereotypes which science says are true, and one of them is “Women are wimps.” It was really interesting because it is actually true according to science. Women have a lower pain threshold than men. Women and men actually feel pain in different ways, and when men feel pain, they feel much less of it than women do. Scientists believe it’s due to a protein called GIRK2, which probably has a higher presence in men. It affects the pain threshold as well as how painkillers work to block pain.
This really struck me because there has been a sudden burst in sexist jokes and puns regarding women making sandwiches, women not being able to drive and women just being downright wrong.
The “women should always remain in the kitchen” stereotype led me to think why some food is classified as man’s food. Hamburgers, steak, etc. are all considered to be food for men. Does this have something to do with another stereotype, that men are naturally slobs? If you were to walk into a well-known steakhouse, you would see mostly men eating there. My dad’s pharmaceutical company sometimes offers to treat him to dinner and on one of these occasions they chose Sparks Steak House, a relatively well-known steakhouse. I wanted to go simply because I really enjoy eating steak, but my mom said, “It’s a man’s restaurant!”
Why does it really matter? Food is food to me.
-lily k.
