Publications and Research
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2010
Abstract
This article looks at soup making as a lens to view the impact of societal change for Hungarian pensioner women. Food as a practice illustrates agency: strategies and tactics used in time and space to communicate meaning for people in everyday life. During the Socialist period women endured frustrations of long lines and scarce resources. Post socialism, their heroic clout as food providers is diminished by the introduction of a market economy. However, the survival skills learned in the socialist era allow them to adapt to the new era of high inflation, and high unemployment. I use descriptions of one woman to connect personal experience to historical and political change. This paper makes two main points – first, to look at food practices developed during Socialism that carry over and adapt to the Post socialist condition; and second, to illustrate how this impacts gender and agency of elderly Hungarian women.
Comments
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/07409710.2010.529018#preview