FRONTIERS BETWEEN SUBJECTIVITY AND FOOD: A SCOPING REVIEW

Food is a complex field of knowledge that connects subjectivity, society and the person. Furthermore, subjectivity is a concept which has been understood differently throughout each particular field and time.  This scoping review intends to map the many ways subjectivity was conceptualized in Food Studies, as well as the limitations imposed by them. The search strategy generated a total of 416 results, of which 45 studies were included in the final review. Most of the papers relied on post structuralist studies to conceptualize subjectivity. The commonly used theoretical framework was based on Foucault. Two main categories were identified: the first in which the concept refers to the idea of embodiment or incorporation; the second in which it refers to social interactions, including identity formation, and the capacity to act (or not). Findings revealed that the generative character of subjectivity is sometimes presented in a contradictory manner, at times understood as requiring mediation, imposition, at others, understood as an internalization from that which is on the outside. The unique fabric of the individual’s subjective configuration is an approach to be encouraged so as to enable advances in the understanding of subjectivity.