Taking in all phases of the research process, my analysis into how individuals responded when discussing food work looked at both their verbal responses and reflections and additionally, practical examples from the analysis of written responses in completing weekly food diaries and through observations of their engagement in grocery shopping trips. Understanding changes in how individuals at different stages across the life course relate what is important for them was vital also, as their
experiences reflect a varied response particular to their personal circumstances.
An understanding of the values associated with feeding others emerged as a theme early on in the focus group phase of this research where it was shown to be of prime importance within the context of caring for family. In attempting to understand how individuals reflect on and apply it in their daily work of caring in families, in a contemporary context, the approach used by theorists in relation to family work and responsibilities in family is pertinent. The work of Finch, (1989), Finch and Mason, (1993,) and Duncan and Edwards, (1999), and Duncan, Edwards, Reynolds, and Alldred, (2003), concerning responsibilities in relation to families, are based on values and norms of behaviour. For Finch and Mason obligations are part of an internal
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moral code related to what is seen as the proper thing to do and are negotiated within families rather than laid down through gendered ascribed roles. For Duncan et al (2003), a moral approach as a basis of making decisions connected to caring roles is made on the basis of contemporary social norms of what is considered the right and proper course of action; ‘and that decision making can vary between different social groups and in different places’ (Duncan et al, 2003: 327).
By focusing on feeding work and family practices specifically related to this task, I examine how both past and present experiences create patterns that underlie and influence how beliefs and actions emerge within individuals’ social and cultural identities. The levels to which influences from a familial past translate into habitual practices and ultimate responsibility, or are negotiated and shared, are explored also.
For eighteen of the interviewees early experiences in which their mother was a significant role model had a strong influence on their present actions regarding the role of cooking (See Table 5.1, below). In some cases this was significant for how they expressed their beliefs and attitudes and ultimately how they explained their role today. For twenty others the work of cooking and feeding was viewed differently shaped by later influences which have significant consequences for how they variously approach responsibility for, and carry out this work. Responses from interviews highlight predominant themes in relation to this work whereas food diaries and participant observation reveal how respondents’ went about food work and reflected on the practice on a daily basis. The following areas emerged as central aspects related to values and practices expressed by respondents.
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Family food - gender and emotional labour
Eating rituals –significance of daily meals
Participants’ views expressed in relation to the role of feeding emerged in part
through identification with beliefs and practices past and present in their lives. In this way lived experiences shape how social roles are taken on and practices enacted. This is not to contend that other significant structural and societal constraints may also influence and shape social practices.
Recent research in Ireland and Europe indicates that how social roles and specifically gender roles are understood can vary widely according to values and beliefs of a given culture. Surveys carried out in Ireland in the last decade of the twentieth century to determine attitudinal changes towards gendered roles from both male and female perspectives showed the existence of two contradictory sets of cultural values at play. Crotty and Schmitt (1998), draw on the work of Whelan and Fahy (1994) to explore how such values can be understood. The European values systems study which
compared cross-national attitudes towards a variety of issues facilitates comparison of values and attitudes across different countries. Whelan and Fahy (1994), in an
analysis of survey results for Ireland, concluded that: ‘while Irish attitudes are not significantly more traditional than European views, the pattern of results does point to the continuing influence of values that underpin sex-role differentiation’ (Whelan and Fahy,1994: 97, cited in Crotty and Schmitt, 1998: 118).
Greater differences were accounted for when analysed by age and education with better educated younger age groups showing more egalitarian views on women’s roles. In contrast, stay at home mothers held more traditional attitudes toward
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than those of their wives. These findings related to gender roles show the variation of values, beliefs and attitudes that can exist between genders and social groups in different contexts. They do not however, explore how individuals interpret or relate to what meanings their values have in the context of their lived experience.
In my research, qualitative analysis of findings concerning values, and meanings expressed about the work of feeding others was undertaken. Different responses are broadly associated with participants’ perceptions of family life across the life course, and are based on their particular social, cultural, and economic perspectives. These come together under a number of themes related to food provision. The concept of display outlined by Finch in (2007), and the linked concept of family practices (Morgan, 1996), are also used to explore how families through ‘doing’ what they see as family routines around food, convey their sense of being a family.
Taking account of the ideas put forward by Gatrell (2005) that the social world is constructed by beliefs and attitudes about social roles, which may in turn shape
practices, and where social and human reality is regarded as multi-dimensional, which may differ depending of the perspective of individuals, the following section
examines the various ways in which individuals engage with the specific role of feeding across the life course and the particular values, attitudes, meanings, and display they express through their practices.