Food as a Transcultural Metaphor Food Imagery and Ethnocultural Identities in Contemporary Multicultural Women Writing in Canada

Microsoft Word - Dokument1Food as a Transcultural Metaphor
Food Imagery and Ethnocultural Identities in Contemporary
Multicultural Women Writing in Canada
Katarína Hinnerová
Author’s Statement:
I declare that I have worked on this diploma thesis independently, using only the
primary and secondary sources listed in Works Cited.
Acknowledgements:
I would like to thank Mgr. Klára Kolinská, M.A., Ph.D. for her kind help, valuable
advice and inspiring comments.
Introduction………………………………………………………………………………1 1. Contemporary Canadian Literature Within the Context of Multiculturalism and
Transculturalism
1.1. Canadian Policy of Multiculturalism And Its Reflection in Contemporary
Canadian Literature…………………………………………………………….7
Cross-cultural Interaction……………………………………………………..15
2. Contemporary Food Discourses—Shedding Light on Food Imagery
2.1. Food Studies as a Reflection of Social and Cultural Developments………….26
2.2. Food and Identity—A Crucial Relationship…………………………………..33
3. Food Imagery and Contemporary Canadian Women Authors of Multicultural
Backgrounds—Expressions of Ethnocultural Identities
3.1. Introduction…………………………………………………………………...37
3.2. Food as an Expression of Ethnocultural Identity and Cultural Barriers
in Mary Di Michele’s “Life is Theatre”………………………………………42
3.3. Food and the Conflict of the Traditional and the Assimilated
in Uma Parameswaran’s “Tara’s Mother-in-law”…………………………….45
3.4. Tasting the Past in Dionne Brand’s In Another Place, Not Here......................48
3.5. Exile and the Meaning of a Cake in Marlene Nourbese Philip’s
“Burn Sugar”………………………………………………………………….50
3.6. Sharon H. Nelson’s “The Woman’s Testimony”—Cooking and Gender
Roles in Immigrant Experience……………………………………………….53
3.7. Food, Politics and Human Psyche in Kristjana Gunnars’ The Prowler………56
3.8. Sharing Food as a Transcultural Act in Beth Brant’s “Food and Spirits”…….59
3.9. Eden Robinson’s Monkey Beach—Food as a Means of Switching
Between Cultural Identities…………………………………………………...62
3.10. Conclusion………………………………………………………………….....64
4. Food as a Transcultural Metaphor in Hiromi Goto’s Chorus of Mushrooms………65
4.1. Introduction…………………………………………………………………...66
4.2. Hiromi Goto as a Transcultural Writer……………………………………….67
4.3. Transcultural Aspects of Food in Goto’s Chorus of Mushrooms…………….72
4.4. Transculturalism, Food and Stories…………………………………………...85
4.5. Other Food Issues in Chorus of Mushrooms………………………………….89
Conclusion………………………………………………………………………...........92
Resumé…………………………………………………………………………………95
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Introduction
Contemporary Canadian literary landscape is composed of the multitude of voices
speaking from the diverse ethnocultural spheres and from the spaces in-between
cultures. These voices reflect changing attitudes to Canadian identities—they speak
against homogeneity, uniformity and exclusionary structures. They apprehend the fact
that identities are fluid as a consequence of cross-cultural exchanges. Such interactions
are a premise of transculturalism, which is considered by many a concept more fitting
for the reality of clashing cultures than the official policy of multiculturalism. The
experience of multiple cultural traditions and the sociopolitical discourse surrounding it
have found their way into the Canadian literary output, and is often commented on
through food imagery. Food is an important social phenomenon, an integral part of
culture and the means of creating, affecting and making statements about one’s identity.
According to Kim Chernin, food is also a medium through which women perceive,
experience and materialize their identity searches. Therefore, Canadian women authors
use food imagery when they want to make statements about ethnicity, culture and
identity/express their ethnocultural identities.
The main objective of my thesis is to prove that food imagery is an efficient means
of conveying contemporary discourse on ethnocultural identities which is tending
towards transcultural perspectives, and to highlight food’s potential to establish the
awareness of diversity, challenge exclusionary attitudes and stimulate cross-cultural
interaction. My observations and conclusions are based on the analysis of Hiromi
Goto’s Chorus of Mushrooms. The novel features three generations of the Tonkatsu
family and their attitudes towards their Japanese heritage, which are represented by their
food habits. The analysis of the novel is put into context of Canada’s discourse on
multiculturalism and transculturalism, as well as into the context of several other
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examples of multicultural women’s writing in Canada which employs food imagery to
comment on issues of culture, ethnicity, identity, gender and politics.
The first part of my thesis provides a description of Canada’s specific social,
political and cultural milieu which is produced by its unique treatment of multicultural
reality. Knowledge of the forces which have created, and which are still creating this
situation, as well as the results of their operation, is necessary to understand the literary
works analyzed in this thesis. These writings should not be disconnected from the
Canadian sociopolitical discourse since it is partly responsible for making their authors
heard—the official policy of multiculturalism has not only triggered the public debate,
but has also brought about funding of literature of other than the English and French
background. On the other hand, the inadequacies of the official policy, namely the
consequent compartmentalization of the society, have inspired these authors to propose
different attitudes to the clashing of cultures within multicultural environments, one of
them being the concept of transculturalism. On the whole, the sociopolitical discourse
has a crucial effect on Canadian identities, since it has brought the diversity of Canada’s
ethnic and cultural composition into the fore of public debate. Canadians have come to
perceive themselves as multicultural. And this in turn affects how Canadian write about
themselves.
In this thesis, the contemporary discourses on culture, identity and ethnicity are
analyzed through food imagery. Food as a literary device is used for various purposes,
and the diversity can be illustrated and apprehended through considering the scope of
food studies. Therefore, the second part of the thesis is devoted to the issues discussed
in present-day food studies. A substantial portion of food research is devoted to the
relation between food and cultural identity, food and ethnicity and other issues
surrounding it, such as immigration, globalization, consumerism and transculturalism as
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well. However, food studies also engage in analyzing links between food and gender, or
food and power and politics. One can find all these issues debated in literary works of
the authors chosen for this thesis. Awareness of the treatment of the above mentioned
questions within food studies can inform the analysis of the literary works in a valuable
way.
Even though the main interest of this thesis lies in considering the transcultural
potential of food imagery, this usage of food in contemporary Canadian literature is not
the only one and should not be analyzed in isolation. To employ transcultural approach
in this thesis, I have decided to cross the boundaries of a various cultures making up the
Canadian literary landscape, and to have a look at how food imagery is used to illustrate
and comment on developments in issues of culture, identity and ethnicity. This thesis
cannot, of course, contain all the writing referring to food in contemporary Canadian
literature. Therefore, inspired by Kim Chernin’s claim that food is “the principal way
the problems of female being come to expression in women’s lives” (qtd. in Blodgett), I
have decided to focus on women authors and to choose writers from various
ethnocultural backgrounds. In this way, I can provide at least a partial illustration of
the variety of female voices comprising Canadian literature, as well as the diversity of
food imagery employment. When reading this section, one can notice that all the
authors acknowledge their ethnic identity in their writing, which is the prerequisite of
adopting transcultural attitudes. The works of the last two authors of this section move
towards transcultural ideals, which parallels the development in the present-day
sociocultural discourse where the concept of transculturalism is gradually replacing
official multiculturalism. These authors and their transcultural use of food imagery also
provide a link with the following section of the thesis.
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The previous part has rendered an outline of food imagery used in writings by
diverse ethnocultural female voices, and several works analyzed there have introduced
transcultural attitudes to the positions in-between cultures. Nevertheless, I have chosen
one specific work to show how transcultural perspectives are better suited for coping
with dual/multiple cultural heritages, and how this message can be communicated
through food imagery. Hiromi Goto’s Chorus of Mushrooms is a prime example of
transcultural fiction and also of a multifarious use of food imagery. Food references are
present in situations where transcultural acts are depicted, but they also occur in
situations where issues such as gender, colonialism or ethnic stereotypes are addressed.
Transcultural acts in the novel entwine communication through food with
communication through stories, thus hinting at the danger of superficial attitude to other
cultures and creation of stereotypes if one sticks only to temporary experience of
“tasting” the other through “exotic” food. Goto’s Chorus of Mushrooms deals with a
variety of current questions concerning culture, identity, and ethnicity and introduces the
transcultural stance to these questions. And what’s more, Hiromi Goto effectively uses
food imagery to handle them.
While writing my diploma thesis, I had to come to terms with terminology
considering culture, ethnicity and identity in relation to literature, that is in no way clear
and fixed. The most difficult task was finding a way to address the group of authors
chosen for the thematic analysis. Canadian literature is a collage of voices from various
ethnocultural groups. In some literary interpretations, the terms “ethnic” and “minority’
are used to describe authors of varied ethnic origins. In my thesis I would like to avoid
these labels, since they sometimes tend to produce stereotypical perception of these
writers. As Kristjana Gunnars claims in her interview with Janice Williamson,
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the term ‘ethnic’ has an ingredient which, …, separates the ethnic person from
the supposedly mainstream person. When people call you ethnic writer,
they’re saying, you may be here and OK. I accept that you’re here, but you
come from somewhere else, don’t really belong, and you’re no doubt going
back somewhere else (102-103).
Such connotations of “ethnic” as foreign, immigrant and Other have to be disrupted.
Each person is ethnically located, and therefore, each author is ethnic. This means that
“ethnic” should not be used to label only certain groups of authors. In case of the term
“minority” authors, the label implies there is a certain powerful majority, and it
disregards the power of the authors stamped in such a way. Throughout the thesis, I
prefer to use the term “authors of diverse ethnocultural backgrounds” and its
modifications, so as not to fall into restrictive labeling. This phrase indicates the variety
of authors making up the Canadian literary landscape without creating stereotypes about
their writing, making indirect statements about their impact on Canadian literature and
disconnecting them from their Canadianness. I use the term “ethnocultural” to
emphasize the relationship between culture and ethnicity, and to exclude the obsolete
connection between ethnicity and biology. I also employ terms “multicultural writing”
and “multicultural writers” which imply the varied cultural backgrounds Canadian
authors speak from and are influenced by. These terms are also based on the assumption
that each individual, each writer is a conglomerate of identities.
In my thesis, I refer to a variety of sociological studies about food as well as to
several reviews of books on food studies to introduce the crucial food issues which can
consequently be found in the analyses of literary works. To relate these works to the
sociocultural climate they have originated in, a wide range of materials on Canadian
policy of multiculturalism was used to provide me with a background for the Canadian
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milieu. A number of sources was consulted to clarify concepts such as identity,
ethnicity, or transculturalism. As there are few analyses of the chosen literary works
available in Czech libraries, I refer to several internet sources to support my
assumptions. All the sources are cited in the Works Cited section.
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1. Contemporary Canadian Literature Within the Context of Multiculturalism and
Transculturalism
1.1. Canadian Policy of Multiculturalism And Its Reflection in Contemporary
Canadian Literature
It is hereby declared to be the policy of the
Government of Canada to foster the recognition
and appreciation of the diverse cultures of
Canadian society and promote the reflection
and the evolving expressions of those cultures.
-Excerpt from the Canadian Multiculturalism Act
(qtd. in “Canadian Diversity: Respecting our Differences”)
Canada is a country which has made multiculturalism its national policy, thus
affecting the functioning of its society in all its spheres, literature including, in a way
different from other multicultural societies. Since 1972 a broad framework of laws and
policies has been created in order to support Canada's positive approach to pluralism on
an official level, and the result is a specific sociocultural milieu, marked by recent
discussions on drawbacks of codifying something that has always been a distinctive
feature of Canada. The discourse on multiculturalism, its principles, and on the political
formulation of it with all its advantages and inadequacies shapes the way Canadians
perceive themselves, and consequently influences the way Canadians write about their
identities. Knowledge of the political and social forces which have stirred and still stir
the Canadian society can shed light on literary works written in its multicultural climate.
8
The Canadian policy of multiculturalism was a public and formal recognition of
an already existing pluralism of Canadian society. Multiculturalism as a coexistence of
a spectrum of various cultures within a group or a society has always been a fact of
Canadian life—as Jean Burnet implies in “Myths and Multiculturalism”, Canada has
never been a monocultural or even a bicultural country (qtd. in Crawford). Such
pluralism is a result of the presence of a wide range of First Nation societies and
numerous communities created by recurrent immigration flows. However,
contemporary Canada is not the only model of multiculturalism in the world. It can be
argued that all human societies throughout history have been multicultural because
differences based on ethnicity, gender or occupation have continually been represented
using manifold cultural codes (“Multiculturalism”). Yet, multiculturalism is essentially
understood as a sociocultural manifestation of multiethnicity. In this respect, Canada is
a typical example of a multicultural society with ethnocultural communities comprising
the English, French, Scottish, Irish, German, Italian, Chinese, Ukrainian, North
American Indian, Dutch, Polish, East Indian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Welsh, Jewish,
Russian, Filipino, Métis, Swedish, Hungarian, American, Greek, Spanish, Jamaican,
Danish and the Vietnamese (“Population by selected ethnic origins”). It is
understandable that such a varied ethnocultural makeup of the country has a substantial
impact on how it is perceived by its citizens. In her book The Next Canada, Myrna
Kostash illustrates the general attitude towards multiculturalism in Canada with the
results of a 1995 survey in which “68 per cent of Canadians agreed with the observation
that ‘on the whole, immigration is a good thing for Canada.’28” (150), and also by the
actual absence of the question about attitude to multiculturalism and immigration in the
1998 Annual Poll published by Maclean’s magazine (ibid.) Both cases imply that the
multicultural aspect of Canadian society has come to be appreciated as a natural, if not a
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crucial, feature of Canada, hence as a defining influence on the collective identity.
Regardless of its legal and political version, multiculturalism has always been the
essence of Canadian society and most of its members have come to acknowledge this
fact.
“Multiculturalism within a Bilingual Framework” was the name of the Canada’s
first official policy of multiculturalism and it was announced in 1971 by the then Prime
Minister Pierre Trudeau. The policy was developed in reaction to several factors. First,
it was created to deal with ethnic minorities’ reactions to the establishment of the Royal
Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism. The Commission was appointed to
recommend solutions to the increasingly problematic English-French relations.
However, the commissioners came across more than just the English-French issues.
During the hearings across the country, spokespersons of other ethnic groups protested
against the secondary status of their affairs and argued that the policy of assimilation
was both unjust and a failure. They wanted their cultures to be recognized as valuable
contributions to the Canadian society and as equal with the cultures of the British and
the French. The pressure which had been developed by these groups initiated the shift
from biculturalism to multiculturalism. The second force acting in favor of the official
multiculturalism was the liberalization of Canada’s immigration policy. The
Immigration Act of 1967 introduced an immigration system that “did not discriminate
on the basis of race, national origin, religion, or culture and was thus less discriminatory
against non-Europeans that had previously been the case” (qtd. in Esses and Gardner).
The increase in the salience of ethnicity, which was an outcome of this system, led to
recognizing the official policy of multiculturalism as the sensible next step in the
acceptance of this diversity. The recognition of the inevitability of pluralism was
closely connected to the third force lying behind the promotion of the multicultural
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policy, which was the debate on Canadian identity. Multiculturalism has become the
means of establishing the uniqueness of Canada and of differentiating it from other
countries, mainly the United States. Pierre Trudeau declared in 1972 that “We become
less like others; less susceptible to cultural, social or political envelopment by others”
(qtd. in Esses and Gardner). Multiculturalism was adopted as a distinguishing
constituent of Canadian collective identity and national self-definition, and the official
policy which arose from the interplay of several social and political forces within
Canada was designed to acknowledge this reality and to enhance equal participation of
all ethnocultural communities by law.
The Canadian Multicultural Act of 1971 pursued transformation of the country’s
formerly assimilative character into one that appreciates diversity of Canada’s ethnic
and cultural anatomy, and it sought to achieve this change by following the principles of
equality, pluralism and human rights. Keith McLeod has summarized the 1971 Act “as
a policy that (1) ensures equality of status, (2) defines the essence of the Canadian
identity as pluralistic, (3) offers citizens a choice of lifestyles, and (4) protects civil and
human rights” (qtd. in Crawford). The purpose of the Act was to encourage the
members from different cultural backgrounds to maintain their uniqueness. In 1988 the
“Act for the Preservation and Enhancement of Multiculturalism in Canada” was passed,
containing some minor organizational amendments and including objectives such as
preserving and sharing cultural heritages, recognizing multiculturalism as a fundamental
characteristic of Canadian identity, promoting full and equal participation and equal
treatment of individuals of all origins, as well as advocating understanding and
creativity which arise from interaction between different cultures (Esses and Gardner).
Since its announcement in 1971, the policy of multiculturalism has changed because of
the increased presence of visible minorities. At first the policy was introduced to
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answer the needs of European immigrant groups, and was thus realized through cultural
programs and heritage education. Gradually, the policy has expanded to involve
fighting prejudice and discrimination and promoting equal participation of all
individuals. At any rate, the policy of multiculturalism has made culture and ethnic
identity a political issue articulated by law and debated in public space, and so it brought
about certain positive changes by establishing the different cultural communities and
affirming the concrete reality of Canada on a governmental level (Cuccioletta 7). The
essence of multiculturalism which is based on equality, pluralism, interaction and
human and civil rights should not be denounced as worthless.
Despite the positive ideals multiculturalism is based on, the multicultural policy
of Canada has always faced criticism from various fronts.
For example, in English-speaking Canada some worried that multiculturalism
would divide Canadians rather than unite them. Others feared that
multiculturalism would erode the rich British heritage of English-speaking
Canada. Many in Quebec protested that multiculturalism was designed to
undermine Quebec nationalism. (“About Canada”)
The rise in the number of members of visible minorities has shifted the interest from the
recognition and preservation of cultural heritages towards the issues of equal
opportunities and has brought forward the problem of prejudice and discrimination.
Maintaining the unique cultural practices instead of assimilating to the mainstream
Canadian culture may be a difficult feat considering that the differences in culture and
beliefs are often a source of conflict between communities. The promotion and
preservation of the variety of unique cultural backgrounds is related to yet another
problematic dimension…