Alimentary Models of the Ethnic Other in the (Post-)Covid Period

Abstract

This article analyzes the post-Covid image of the Other in the gastronomic aspect. The research is a continuation of complex studies on the construction of models of the Otherness and identification of alerting markers in the modern Internet space. The authors rely on the assumption that food culture is a basic characteristic, through which both self-identification and the definition of Otherness take place. From the researchers' point of view, the Other in the alimentary aspect appears as a subject whose food system is as extraordinary as possible in terms of "our" cultural patterns, which allows, according to the authors, to identify indicators of latent fear of the Other. By actualizing their curiosity about the Otherness through Internet queries, the subjects thereby signify their interest in obtaining additional information about the Other and their everyday practices.
 In this study, the authors, on the basis of the revealed internet queries, carry out an analysis of the typical markers of alimentary Otherness in the post-Covid period. The findings of this research allow the authors to compare the identified patterns with those that had been got in the pre-Covid period. It is noted that the fear of Other-Cannibal, almost absent in the 2019 analysis, has gained new actualisation in the Asian cluster of models based on the analysis of data for the 2020-2021 period. There is also a general actualisation of the alimentary component of the Otherness, caused, according to the authors, by the pandemic.