Described as “the bible of the vegan community” by the New York Times, Carol J. Adams’ The Sexual Politics of Meat was a revolutionary look at the intersection of the oppression of women and non-human animals. Though her feminist-vegetarian critical theory has been hugely influential in some circles, it is not a theory that lends itself easily to the entire population. Adams claims her work is about “liberation from harmful and limiting beliefs,” but can a theory that is dependent upon the same system of binaries that it is fighting truly liberate?

               Using Jacques Derrida’s deconstructive theory, and J.B. Bouson’s description of feminine narcissistic disorders, I will detail how the relationship the female characters found in Margret Atwood’s The Edible Woman have with food serve as a window into the complexities of this damaging system of binaries. I will further explain how these systems function to strip control from women while also giving them avenues for escape. Through the smaller examples found within the novel, ultimately I will explore the limitations of Adams’ feminist-vegetarian theory as it functions within the system it is trying to destroy.

Womanly Vegetables, Manly Meat and the Question of Control in The Edible Woman by Margret Atwood