Psyche A. Williams-Forson

Eating While Black: Food Shaming and Race in America, by Psyche A Williams-Forson, is a wide-ranging and fascinating look at food and eating where they intersect with race and both individual and systemic racism.

For me, and I think for many readers, what stood out were the many more subtle uses of food and eating habits that reinforce racial, and racist, stereotypes and thus help to maintain the system. Even some well-intentioned policies or suggestions are guilty. If you convince, or shame, people into wanting to eat certain foods because they are healthier but the system has made such foods almost impossible to get in the neighborhoods where people live, have you done more good than bad?

The examples and stories here cover a wide range, from the actual food, to the spaces within which food can be consumed, and even the perception of those who prepare the food and create recipes. Running parallel to the idea of food and food consumption, of course, is body image. I found myself going back to another book I read, Fearing the Black Body by Sabrina Springs, and looking specifically at the parts that overlap with Williams-Forson's argument.

If you read this with even a little bit of reflective thought you will have moments when you feel uncomfortable with things you may have done or said (or thought). That is good, we need to feel this so we can begin to make change. Because food is a staple of life we sometimes make the mistake of thinking of it as not being a part of social justice issues, which also means we perhaps are less vigilant about considering how our societal stereotypes affect our thinking about it.

I would recommend this to just about everyone. It will speak to those who love food and share it all the time to help them make sure they are indeed sharing the joy of food and eating. The more we are aware of the subtle ways racism is embedded in our society, and within ourselves (no matter how we try to root it out), the more we can make both personal and societal change a reality.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.… (meer)

This book was a great look at the complications of stereotypes surrounding chicken and Black women, and really resting in those complications and resisting easy answers. It was very tenderly done, and I really appreciated the care with which Williams-Forson handled the various issues at play: not just the stereotypes and answering them, but also the lived experiences of Black women regarding their relationships to women. For that careful handling, I really recommend this book, even if the subject isn't one that you might immediately think would be interesting.… (meer)