when wings got balls...

I know we touched on how certain foods have "genders" last week in class, but especially after the Super Bowl this weekend, it's been a topic that I can't quit thinking about (PS - are we allowed to use prepositions at the end of our sentences in this class?).

When was the last time a TV ad showed a pack of ravenous girls/women scarfing down a platter of buffalo wings, and have you EVER seen a chocolate commercial in which a man, seemingly on the brink of orgasm, is secretly indulging in a chocolate bar? Sure, women eat baby back ribs and men eat cream pie-flavored yogurt, but is it possible for a man to eat frozen cookie dough without feeling slightly emasculated?

The media tells us that men eat "real" foods, while women sustain themselves on a diet of sugar-free jello, lean cuisine frozen dinners, and individually wrapped Ghiradelli chocolates (eaten so slowly and sensually you'd think they were performing some sort of ancient ritual). Just the thought of 4 male coworkers daydreaming over which 300-calorie meal they'll eat for lunch is comical. Sure, there are exceptions, but for the most part, the media makes men feel good about eating, and women feel embarrassed, ashamed, or even sinful. Products that we know aren't the healthiest are approached with religious tones: "You've been good all day, now it's time to be bad, "The eighth deadly sin," etc.

I'm still waiting for the TV commercial when men on Wall Street meet for afternoon tea and cupcakes, and when girls' nights out feature polish sausages instead of Double Stuffed Oreos. Studies show that men and women DO eat different foods, but not to the extent portrayed on our billboards. Typically, women's diets DO consist of a higher percentage of "snack food," and men's diets DO consist of a higher percentage of "meal food," but I feel as though a roadside billboard featuring a man springing into the air with a small container of cheesecake pudding would turn more heads and cause more wrecks than a naked marathon (OK, maybe not a naked marathon, but some other moderately unexpected visual stimulus).

Psychological studies show that the discrepancy between men and women's comfort foods is due in part to their gender roles. For older generations, women were usually the primary food providers of their families. In my grandparents' youth, especially in the rural farmlands of the South, men had labor-intensive jobs and worked from sun-up 'til sun-down; women, on the other hand, were assigned the task of creating whatever hearty, sustaining meals they could given their financial means. To a man, nothing was more comforting than coming home to a massive plate of beef stew, chicken n dumplings, homemade biscuits, and various other 'stick-to-your-ribs' kinds of foods. To a woman, these foods were a visual reminder of a long day in the kitchen - thus, candy bars and other prepackaged sweets became the ultimate comfort, as they required absolutely no effort on the woman's behalf.

Have the psyches of our elders been passed down to the current generation? Surely we learn what's appropriate food at least somewhat from our families. Obviously, we no longer live in a society where men are bailing hay all day while women are peeling potatoes in the kitchen. Do men still NEED 'stick-to-your-ribs' food if working involves trading e-mails all day instead of trading livestock? So, why is it that even when a man and woman have the exact same position in today's society, their 'acceptable' foods are so drastically different? The reality is that guys eat girl food, and guys eat girl food - so why do buffalo wings still have balls??