Um, what?

I agree with Jonah - is it some sort of new sociological discovery that different cultures enjoy different foods...?

The point is, we're always trying to find things to show our students that their idea of what is "normal" or "just makes sense" is specific to their (sub)culture--whether that's family form (polygamous or monogamous), clothing, or, in this case, what seems "normal" to eat for breakfast. I'm betting a lot of our students would not just think it was weird to eat soup for breakfast, they'd be nearly disgusted.

Lisa put it up as an image that might be helpful for making the point about the social construction of what is "normal," in this case by taking something that most people probably don't think about much but yet have pretty strong ideas about when confronted with other ways of doing it.

Incidentally, waffles and crepes are a very popular lunch food in Korea.

--and toast especially.

I found the post interesting as it's something that is "socially constructed," but even so I can't make myself want soup for breakfast. You might show how femininity or baby names are socially constructed but it won't necessarily change people's tastes.

Well, Noumenon, you're absolutely right: they could put up a post showing how femininity is socially constructued, but it wouldn't change people's tastes. That's because our "tastes" are also socially constructed.

This is a great post. I went vegan while on a college meal plan... breakfast up till then was my most frequent meal, even after going vegetarian. I'd have eggs, waffle/French toast, tater tots... when I went vegan, I didn't realize waffles and French toast were made of eggs and milk. Anyway... none of the cooked foods the dining hall prepared for breakfast were vegan. I had to switch to cereal, bagels, and fruit. It's true that Americans cling to what makes an appropriate meal, especially breakfast foods. Frankly, though, I'd love to have whatever's in that photo above. Maybe it's because my mom is East Asian.

Carol J. Adams points out the evolution of America's favorite meats. Back in the 19th century Americans were all about dead pigs... hence the bacon, ham, and sausage that now make up traditional breakfast. Then it became dead cows. Now it's chicken corpses.

People are always telling me they "need" this, that, or other food. I think we have cultural and personal routines and just attach to whatever we normally eat, simply put. And if they started serving tofu and dumpling soup for breakfast instead of eggs and toast, I think a lot of people would just say, "Why the heck did you choose that? That's not a 'breakfast food.'"

Soup is popular for breakfast in Morocco sometimes too - it's usually leftovers from the night before, and is often tomato-based (harira, if anyone knows what I'm talking about). I remember being kind of surprised by it at first, but ended up loving it on cold winter mornings!

Soup used to be part of a traditional and typical Korean breakfast. Even though Korea adopted some of typical Western style coffee, toast, etc for their breakfast, soup/rice combination is still the favorite choice. And it applies to at least first generation of Koreans in U.S. I think the ad is well-made and catchy, only well understood and recognized for a particular ethnic group.

Soup and stew from has been one traditional breakfast from Roman times to oatmeal and milk. Western Euro 'full breakfasts' of steak, bacon, eggs and so on are what you eat on a ranch from time immemorial.

This looks like another 'PC' article intended to divide and sneer from an ignorant PhD who never left their echo chamber..

At least libertarians are truly multicultural and let people be themselves...and understand things can indeed proceed from reality, not 'social constructions' assumed by pseudo-scientists...