Gender Relations & Food!

"What would the Italians do without Peru's tomatoes!" - Abuelita

This is a bit of a longer post but Jon said not to edit so read away (if you dare) mi amigos <3

Something that I found particularly interesting in this week's readings was when we read about textiles and learned that in Andean society, the sexual division of labour is less rigidly defined as both men and women learned to weave. The loosening of these gender roles in Andean society demonstrates a similar notion of women being seen as equal, or in some respects, more essential than men, as we witnessed with the erotic art exhibit in Museo Larco. In many of the artworks, there was either a balance between women and men or the women were portrayed as much larger than the men to signify their importance to the process of procreation. Pre-Hispanic Incan art also characterizes women by the presence of a vulva rather than the absence of a penis, unlike many Western depictions. Symbolizing women in art with the presence of something such as a vulva reaffirms their wholeness, which again, contrasts many Western notions of women which separates their body parts from the person, ultimately reducing them to sexual objects.

Examples of Erotic Art Exhibition from Museo Larco. Used to pour liquids.

Learning about pre-Hispanic art and textiles has made me think about how there were less gendered roles in indigenous societies, and how women were afforded greater value. It seems that patriarchal ideals were a product of colonialism as there is evidently a double standard toward men and women in Canada and Peru and the division of labour is much more prominent post-colonialism. In Canada, with British colonial rule, gender roles became influenced by Christian ideals where women were seen as the helper of men. Similarly, according to some brief research, under Spanish colonial rule, many of the rights of Andean women such as owning land, holding important religious offices, and access to community resources were stripped following the Spanish conquest. The unequal value placed on men and women, where women are given secondary importance post-colonialism, is a troubling realization and has increased my appreciation for pre-hispanic civilizations in the Andes.

Another concept I found particularly enticing is how food has become a religion in Peru. Before coming to Peru, I was sold by this program because of how my friends discussed the myriad of unique Peruvian foods and how Lima is the world’s culinary capital. In The Lima Reader, Marco Aviles described how he never wanted to leave Lima until he met his wife from the US. Thus, when he returns to Lima, one of the most important items on their agenda is deciding where to eat. When creating plans for our first few days with Gabriel’s cousin Fabianna, most of our plans were centred around what and where to eat.

Me infiltrating the lunch between Jon and Gabriel’s family at Caplina (picture includes Jon, Gabriel, Abuelito, Abuelito, me, and cousin Fabianna).

I very much enjoy eating but I was also keen to try other activities. However, after visiting many impressive restaurants in our first days where we tried Chifa, Ceviche, Mazamorra Morada and many other foods, I would not have wanted to spend my time in any other way.

Jon’s Ceviche, My Ceviche with fried squid, and Gabriel’s Ceviche soup (?) (Jon did not eat his lettuce smh)

Causa a la limeña (potatoes, lobster and a cool neon green sauce), Green Shrimp pasta (the abuelitos ate the whole thing!), Estofado de Pollo, our appetizers.

Although, the development of the food culture in Peru is a curious phenomenon. Their cuisine used to be very cheap but not very famous or fancy. Therefore, we are presented with the question of why Peruvian dishes became much more popular with Andean ingredients such as quinoa which were previously difficult to find but are now featured in upscale restaurants. Is it because of the allure of what is exotic to us? Even the tasting menu at Astrid and Gaston (a restaurant credited with bringing Peruvian food to the forefront and arguably the best restaurant in Latin America) is called Virú, an indigenous term said to refer to modern Peru.

The outside of Astrid y Gaston in Lima (we just saw the parking lot so this photo is from the internet hehe)

I would argue that the use of Andean ingredients and indigenous phrases in cuisine is to demonstrate indigenous ties that are arguably manufactured for their tourist appeal. Incan culture and Indigeneity seem to be presented as a brand in Peru. This brand, however, that Peru is selling seems to be successful since Westerners and tourists, such as myself, enjoy peering into the lives of the Andean people. Therefore, these indigenous connections found in the cuisine and the overall environment contribute to the indigenous appeal that tourists find so alluring.

Question for mi amigos: What Peruvian foods are your favourite so far?

Queso Frtios is my favourite so far! It has my three favourite food groups: cheese, potatoes, and corn <3 (Peruvian portion sizes are THE BEST)