Exploring women’s visceral engagement with electric appliances in Turkish kitchens

Abstract This paper investigates the narratives and experiences of women regarding cooking with small electric appliances. It intends to offer a novel perspective on gender and technology studies by foregrounding the visceral dimensions of these encounters. Drawing from a larger project on the histo...

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Main Authors: Defne Karaosmanoğlu, Leyla Bektaş Ata, Bahar Emgin
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Springer 2025-03-01
Series:Discover Food
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1007/s44187-025-00348-z
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author Defne Karaosmanoğlu
Leyla Bektaş Ata
Bahar Emgin
author_facet Defne Karaosmanoğlu
Leyla Bektaş Ata
Bahar Emgin
author_sort Defne Karaosmanoğlu
collection DOAJ
description Abstract This paper investigates the narratives and experiences of women regarding cooking with small electric appliances. It intends to offer a novel perspective on gender and technology studies by foregrounding the visceral dimensions of these encounters. Drawing from a larger project on the historical representations and lived experiences of domestic technologies in Turkey, it highlights how the embodied dimensions of cooking shape the ways women perceive, adapt, and integrate technology into their daily lives. This study is based on interviews with twenty-seven women across five cities in Turkey conducted between 2022 and 2024. While small electric appliances are often marketed for convenience and efficiency, we argue that focusing solely on their instrumental benefits neglects the complex and visceral ways women engage with technology. A visceral approach remains an undervalued lens for understanding these interactions, particularly as women’s embodied knowledge and relationships to kitchen appliances challenge scholarship that prioritizes progress and efficiency. As active agents, many women resist these technologies, viewing them as misaligned with the embodied knowledge and practices integral to cooking. By reevaluating the relationship between food, gender, and technology, we propose that such disengagement challenges the positivist reliance on science and technology, emphasizing the importance of embodied knowledge and everyday practices in shaping women’s interactions with technology.
format Article
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institution Kabale University
issn 2731-4286
language English
publishDate 2025-03-01
publisher Springer
record_format Article
series Discover Food
spelling doaj-art-28bf4d724517435c8fdeaea6fd3643132025-08-20T03:41:40ZengSpringerDiscover Food2731-42862025-03-015111210.1007/s44187-025-00348-zExploring women’s visceral engagement with electric appliances in Turkish kitchensDefne Karaosmanoğlu0Leyla Bektaş Ata1Bahar Emgin2Cibali, Kadir Has UniversityCibali, Kadir Has UniversityIzmir Institute of TechnologyAbstract This paper investigates the narratives and experiences of women regarding cooking with small electric appliances. It intends to offer a novel perspective on gender and technology studies by foregrounding the visceral dimensions of these encounters. Drawing from a larger project on the historical representations and lived experiences of domestic technologies in Turkey, it highlights how the embodied dimensions of cooking shape the ways women perceive, adapt, and integrate technology into their daily lives. This study is based on interviews with twenty-seven women across five cities in Turkey conducted between 2022 and 2024. While small electric appliances are often marketed for convenience and efficiency, we argue that focusing solely on their instrumental benefits neglects the complex and visceral ways women engage with technology. A visceral approach remains an undervalued lens for understanding these interactions, particularly as women’s embodied knowledge and relationships to kitchen appliances challenge scholarship that prioritizes progress and efficiency. As active agents, many women resist these technologies, viewing them as misaligned with the embodied knowledge and practices integral to cooking. By reevaluating the relationship between food, gender, and technology, we propose that such disengagement challenges the positivist reliance on science and technology, emphasizing the importance of embodied knowledge and everyday practices in shaping women’s interactions with technology.https://doi.org/10.1007/s44187-025-00348-zCookingTechnologyDomesticityVisceral approachTurkey
spellingShingle Defne Karaosmanoğlu
Leyla Bektaş Ata
Bahar Emgin
Exploring women’s visceral engagement with electric appliances in Turkish kitchens
Discover Food
Cooking
Technology
Domesticity
Visceral approach
Turkey
title Exploring women’s visceral engagement with electric appliances in Turkish kitchens
title_full Exploring women’s visceral engagement with electric appliances in Turkish kitchens
title_fullStr Exploring women’s visceral engagement with electric appliances in Turkish kitchens
title_full_unstemmed Exploring women’s visceral engagement with electric appliances in Turkish kitchens
title_short Exploring women’s visceral engagement with electric appliances in Turkish kitchens
title_sort exploring women s visceral engagement with electric appliances in turkish kitchens
topic Cooking
Technology
Domesticity
Visceral approach
Turkey
url https://doi.org/10.1007/s44187-025-00348-z
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AT leylabektasata exploringwomensvisceralengagementwithelectricappliancesinturkishkitchens
AT baharemgin exploringwomensvisceralengagementwithelectricappliancesinturkishkitchens