"Well, I do, obviously!"
...Are you sure? I'm not, and here's why. Don't worry, this won't be a huge downer. You'll feel empowered by the end of this. Let's go.
This week I started class again at Pepperdine. I'm in my 5th of 8 quarters, and I am especially interested in both my classes because they cover topics I'm exploring through this blog. I'll cover Physiological Psychology in another post, so for today we're looking at Social Psychology. Social Psychology sits between individual psychology (why does a person do what they do) and sociology (why do societies do what they do). Social psychology looks at why individuals do within the context of society. In other words, acknowledging that you can't look at a person and their actions and thoughts without taking into context the world around them.
Does this sound familiar? If you've been living on earth for the last two years and watched even a microminute of news or the internet, you have likely been made aware of perspectives you didn't know before. Black Lives Matter, Indigenous rights, Trans rights, Pandemic parenting, your unrealized love for plants, food tiktok videos, body positivity, to name a few. In a time when we've been stuck at home more than before, many of us have noticed things we didn't see before.
So how does social psychology relate to food? Because where we live, where we get our news and media, how we perceive the world around us, how we think our bodies are beautiful --- it all influences our decisions about food. Here’s a fun example that takes 45 seconds. What are your answers? Try it with a friend. Don’t judge yourself! This isn’t about right or wrong, shame or saint. This is about exploration and adventure. It is about seeing and understanding. I’ll give you an example of my answers compared to my boyfriend’s.
Me: Stollen, hands down. And I’m not even a fan of marzipan.
Manfriend: All of the big meals, like at Thanksgiving.
2. What’s your go-to comfort food?
Me: Sushi.
Manfriend: Burritos.
3. What reminds you of home?
Me: Having dinner and saying what I’m thankful for.
Manfriend: Bourbon. (That’s a food, right?)
What would you think about where we come from? Maybe it would tell you that I have German roots. Maybe you’d think that Manfriend is from Kentucky. You’d be right! What about sushi vs. burritos? Both of those are ubiquitous in the Bay Area, but perhaps we could add the layer that sushi isn’t quite as popular in landlocked Kentucky as it is in seaside California (we have the most sushi restaurants in all of the US). Without (as) many fresh fish options, you might have fewer amazing sushi restaurants. You might be less likely to try it (and understand what you do like.) Or maybe he just doesn’t like fish? We’ll never know exactly, but where we grew up, what our parents liked, and what our friends ate growing up impacts what we think of now.
That’s why I started this blog. My mom is a chef and culinary arts teacher. From an early age I have known how to manipulate food on some level, but it wasn’t until the pandemic that I started to realize how much of a gift it is to know how to make food for myself.
To me, cooking is freedom. It is creativity. It is POWER. When you learn to cook, when you explore your food identity, you’re not reliant only on mass-produced food lacking in personality and heavily marketed to push all your buttons. It’s about what YOU want. And hey, maybe you do want Chipotle (which is how I survived in college, so thank you chi-pot!). It’s all about balance and if that makes you feel good, then great! But what if you were a Panda Express lover and learned how to make your own Kung Pao chicken? What if you had a secret ingredient that made you want to invite friends over? What if you got into Asian food flavors and it inspired you to travel through Asia? The possibilities are endless, but they may start with you looking up a recipe and giving it a go.
So here’s my moment to make you feel good. You are amazing. Every day you get to choose what you eat. YOU get to define yourself through food, no one else does. You get to question why you reach for the cumin instead of thyme, and you get to decide if you want to reach for something else. Me? I hope you will try something new. I tried a paprika sauce this week and it was so-so because I need practice. I still have to learn how to balance the salt in the dish to let the paprika sing. But you know what? It was less scary than I thought. I felt proud of myself for giving it a shot.
So get out there. Muah!
Comments