Three Sisters from the Outer Boroughs: Class, Reproduction, and Food in the Early 1940s through the Mid-1950s

Abstract

Purpose

This chapter examines everyday food production and consumption by three white working class Jewish sisters in the “outer boroughs” of New York City between the war years of the 1940s and the suburbanization of the 1950s.

Methodology/approach

The analysis combines theory, social history, and political economic context as well as the memories of daily life during this period.

Research limitations/implications

This analysis is not generalizable to the working class population at large during this era.

Findings

The chapter shows the importance of changes in the political economy as well as family structure and intersectionality on the production and consumption of food.

Social implications

The importance of government intervention and regulation in food distribution as a mechanism to combat scarcity and to increase equality is demonstrated.

Originality/value

The chapter examines the concept of intersectionality from the perspective of white, working class Jewish women. It analyzes the relationship between government policies, the growth of monopoly capital and women’s agency, and it fleshes out the concepts of social reproduction and use value.

Citation

Spalter-Roth, R. (2016), "Three Sisters from the Outer Boroughs: Class, Reproduction, and Food in the Early 1940s through the Mid-1950s", Gender and Food: From Production to Consumption and After (Advances in Gender Research, Vol. 22), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 25-39. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1529-212620160000022011