SUNScholar - Browsing by Author "Matthee, Deidre Denise"

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1

Acts of eating : the everyday eating rituals of female farm workers of color in the Western Cape
(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2001-03) Matthee, Deidre Denise; Kruger, Lou-Marie; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Psychology.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In this qualitative study the significance of the everyday eating rituals of female farm workers of color in the Western Cape is explored. Eating and its associated activities are understood as embodied, social practices that are meaningful and meaning-making. It aims to address the gap left by mainstream psychology's scant attention to the subject matter. Furthermore, it is an endeavor to steer away from the dualistic path trailed by mainstream psychology's following of traditional western philosophical thought. Assuming a social constructionist approach, six transcribed interviews were analyzed using the grounded theory method. Three main themes are extracted from these texts: knowing, agency and community. The ritual of preparing food involves embodied knowing, which enhances the women's impressions of their capacities as transformative agents. This sense of agency is performed through other acts of eating within relational contexts. The link between eating rituals and notions of community is thus introduced, which opens the space to revisit the positions of women in the sites of the family and society.