Gastronomy Alum Unpacks Masculinity, Marketing, and the Secret Origin of ‘Dude Food’

In her new book, Diners, Dudes and Diets: How Gender and Power Collide in Food Media and Culture, MLA in Gastronomy alum Emily Contois (MET’13) explores the concept of “dude food”—a powerful cultural construct developed in recent decades by marketers aiming to encourage male-identifying audiences to spend more on food.

“I was interested in how the food media and marketing industries used [a] cool, nonchalant slacker identity to convince men that they could buy a cookbook,” says Contois, now an assistant professor of media studies at the University of Tulsa. She tells BU Today, “As these industries marketed to men, they had to come up with this different way of being a man. So, the dude came from culture; he’s historically specific, but he was manipulated and deployed by these various industries.”

Contois will lead a discussion exploring the themes of her new book Friday, February 19, as part of BU Programs in Food & Wine’s Pépin Lecture Series. Registration is free, visit here to sign up.