Dem belly full but we hungry: culinary spaces and Black masculinity

Abstract

The author draws some parallels between food, symbolism, and identity and argues that disturbances in eating patterns represent a specific type of defence against oppression and commodification of the body. Discussing the development of cuisine in place and eating patterns of Jamaican men specifically, the author considers the psycho-biography of the Caribbean and the impact of traumatic loss. Exploring the development of recipes and the foodways of Jamaican cuisine from the perspective of self-care and the creation of culture to mitigate the impact of loss of identity and in parallel with disturbances in feeding and eating patterns. After discussing the emergence of cuisine in place, the author then examines: (1) how slavery has shaped contemporary feeding and eating habits; (2) the relationship between food, Afro-Caribbean men and culture; and (3) the ways that his-torical events have been turned into “edible narratives” illuminating adaptive meaning-making processes. A clinical case example shows how environmental factors may impact on identity, creating eating and feeding disturbances which might arise in the clinical setting and how these may be thought about.