this book offers gendered recipes for children

On July 10, the “Sexist nugget” account relayed the discovery of an Internet user on gendered recipes for children. We explain why this is problematic.

Gender stereotypes are tough … and even catch up with us in feeding our children. On July 9, on Twitter, @pinkcuicui shared two gendered recipes, found in a children’s cookbook. This is a “pink soup” recipe for girls and a “blue soup” recipe for boys. Two colors often assigned according to the gender of the child (blue is only for boys and pink for girls) … even though these are stereotypes. Worse still, we note that the recipe for boys is more delicious than that for girls. Indeed, the blue soup contains cheese (Bleu d’Auvergne) and milk, with the possibility of adding croutons. While the pink soup is mainly composed of water and a velvety yogurt.

This find, unfortunately not surprising, was relayed by the twitter account “Sexist nugget” on July 10. “Imagine choosing to make your children eat dishes based on their color. No I’m kidding. But imagine anyway “, wrote ironically the authors of the page in caption. They then found the book in which these two recipes appear. It is about “The kitchen of the little cooks: more than 100 very easy recipes and activities for the seeds” published by Pierre de soleil. And as one internet user noted, the book was published in 2014, “No excuse then”

Gender-based food: a danger

No color and no food is reserved for girls or boys. Gendering the diet through these types of recipes is even dangerous, as it can lead children to believe that they cannot eat the same way depending on their gender. It is also a very present stereotype in French families, as Nora Bouazzouni, journalist and author of the book, explained to us.Steaksisme: put an end to the myth of veggie and meat ‘ (Nouriturfu editions), in a dedicated article. Often, we imagine that boys need to eat more than little girls, who must be careful to have a balanced diet. “In many opinion surveys, moms and dads admit serving their boy a little more than their daughter, even if the age difference is not remote”, the specialist told us. Before adding: However, when you look at the official dietary recommendations, adults like children or teens are not expected to eat differently depending on their gender. In terms of energy intake, for equal height, weight and physical activity, it’s the same thing. “

Read also: “A steak for my son and vegetables for my daughter”: why the gendered diet is dangerous for our children?

As parents, you should know that this kind of behavior, unconscious or not, can lead to eating disorders in children in the future. “During childhood, girls and boys eat the same thing. Teenagers, boys will eat more, fatter and sweeter, with a preference for red meat, starches … While girls will eat less fat, less sweet, and more compotes or white meat. And it is in adolescence that girls will do their first diet … or even earlier, around the age of 8-10, as many specialists have observed (…) they will starve themselves so as not to gain weight “, affirmed the journalist. It is therefore important to offer children a varied and non-gendered diet: vegetables are not just for girls and cheese and meat are for boys.

Elise Poiret

Journalist specializing in parenthood, Elise writes for aufeminin and Parole de mamans. She is also very involved in the fight for women’s rights. If you only have to remember …