Language, Gender and Healthy Eating

[Valentina Pagliai]

Wonderful example to use in my class when on language and gender,
thanks!  As to what to do, I am not sure.  What about a website
dedicated to these kinds of stereotypes?

Valentina Pagliai
Oberlin College

On Apr 6, 2005, at 4:39 PM, Lucy Horder wrote:

> Dear List members,
>
>  Recently, I decided to buy a juicer. According to the literature,
> juicers are a great way to fit in your RDA of 5 portions of fruit and
> veg if you're like me and don't really enjoy eating fruit.
>
>  The juicer I ended up buying included a leaflet that gave some tips
> on healthy eating, as well as a few recipes and ideas. I was stunned
> by the inclusion of the following paragraphs in this guidance:
>
>  "The average woman - say someone who weighs 10 and a half stone -
> uses in an average day around 2000-2200 calories. Of those calories,
> 1400-1500 will be burned by her body performing its everyday bodily
> activities - heart pumping, tissue renewing, general maintenance and
> functions.
>
>  A mere 600-700 calories will be burned by her preparing and taking
> the children to school, going to work all day, cooking tea for her
> children and dinner for her husband, followed by perhaps an hours
> ironing!"
>
>  No mention is made, incidentally, of men who might wish to eat more
> healthily, and the kinds of activities that they might engage in to
> help them burn off calories (although perhaps that's for the best...)
>
>  I have written to the manufacturers and protest heavily at the
> inclusion of this statement in their leaflet, but, unsurprisingly,
> have not yet had a reply. I'd be interested to hear some comments from
> you all if you are as alarmed by this whole episode as I am.
>
>  Yours (fuming),
>
>  Lucy
>
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