Queer Theory: A Lens for Challenging Norms in Food Studies
The use of the term "queer" in this work is deliberate, serving to connect it to my own identity while also aiming to challenge and disrupt prevalent heteronormative narratives. As Kwagiulth scholar Sarah Hunt and non-indigenous scholar Cindy Holmes articulate, "queer is a deconstructive practice focused on challenging normative knowledges, identities, behaviors, and spaces, thereby unsettling power relations and taken-for-granted assumptions. Queerness is then less about a way of ‘being’ and more about ‘doing’ and offers the potential for radical social critique" (Hunt & Holmes, 2015, p. 156).
Furthermore, applying these critical perspectives to food and food studies, Julia C. Ehrhardt highlights the transformative potential of queer insights in this domain: "As the nascent field of food studies takes shape, insights from queer studies have the potential to enrich our understandings of the interrelationships between food, gender, and sexuality by encouraging us to rethink and refine our concepts of these connections" (Ehrhardt, 2006).
Ehrhardt's words, drawn from her essay "Towards Queering Food Studies: Foodways, Heteronormativity, and Hungry Women in Chicana Lesbian Writing," serve as a gateway to the fusion of queer theory and food studies. She underscores the profound capacity of queer theory to illuminate the intricate web of connections between food, gender, and sexuality. This perspective prompts a re-evaluation and refinement of our comprehension of these complex interrelationships. In doing so, it challenges the heteronormative foundations that have long governed the field of food studies, fostering a more inclusive dialogue that welcomes diverse perspectives and experiences.
Taking inspiration from Thomas A. Dowson's work in "Why Queer Archaeology" (2000), this review explores the potential of queer theory to reshape our understanding of the past. It encourages us to push the boundaries of conventional archaeology, even though this may raise concerns among traditional archaeologists (Dowson, 2000). Likewise, Andrea Smith, in "Queer Theory and Native Studies" (2010), argues that applying queer theory to Native Studies challenges the predominantly heteronormative and exclusive character of current scholarship. Similarly, the field of food studies has been predominantly grounded in normative theories (Smith, 2020).
Rasmus Rahbek Simonsen's “A Queer Vegan Manifesto” eloquently unveils the interconnectedness of queer theory and food. Simonsen provocatively argues that the prevailing Western diet, centred around meat consumption, engenders a sense of obliviousness to the profound suffering of animals (Simonsen, 2012). This normative diet finds resonance in broader food production practices fraught with complex ethical and ecological dilemmas. By branding consumption that deviates from these norms as non-normative or queer, we challenge the societal constructs governing our relationship with food.
In recent times, the term "queer" has transcended its origins and burgeoned into a realm encompassing various food-related events, podcasts, and literature. The "Big Queer Food Festival" has carved out a dedicated space for exploring diverse culinary avenues. Podcasts like "Queer the Table" delve into the intricate interplay between queer identity and food.
The act of consuming nettles embodies this transgressive and non-normative stance. The beliefs and traditions intertwined with nettle consumption, whether rooted in ancient wisdom or emerging from alternative viewpoints, serve as a challenge to established norms. It is an act of indulgence from the fringes, epitomizing queer theory's inherent potential to disrupt and dismantle the status quo.