Gender and fast food in Nigeria and South Africa

Food is not just a material entity in African contexts. Cultivation, production, preparation, distribution and consumption of food are laden with value, embedded with and significant in social–cultural relations. Hence, the nature and contexts of food determine and demonstrate important gender essence, realities and structures of societies. Unfortunately, food elements and trajectories are often taken for granted and not sufficiently studied even though they determine outcomes of actions in gender spaces. This article therefore engaged the interfaces/intersectionalities of gender and food in two African contexts. Because of importance and dynamism of food in understanding humans and societal identities particularly gender, contemporary Fast Food in Africa was adopted as a case study in this article. Intersectionalities in this article are the complex and often taken for granted grounds of gender and fast food subjectivities and constructivities over time. This article is within broader frameworks of food and gender against the background of deep-rooted cultural norms, traditions, values and ethos in African societies. This article is conceptual, theoretical and analytical with transnational focus leveraging on the Nigerian and South African scenarios with relevant epistemologies, findings and conclusions. This article contributes new knowledge to the scarce scholarship on the intersectionalities of food in gender discourses in African societies.