Building groups and independence: the role of food in the lives of young people in Danish sports centres

TY - JOUR

T1 - Building groups and independence

T2 - the role of food in the lives of young people in Danish sports centres

AU - Sylow, Mine

AU - Holm, Lotte

PY - 2009

Y1 - 2009

N2 - This article, based on an ethnographic study, examines the role of food in the social interaction of 11-to-17-year-old youths in sports centres in Denmark. The sports centres serve as a free space where young people receive no adult supervision. This i s underlined by their understanding and use of food in this environment. Food serves as a medium that introduces occasions for getting together. The article analyses the social significance and symbolic meaning of food in children's and adolescents' peer culture. As everywhere in social life, rules of food choice and eating signal the meaning of social relations and social contexts.

AB - This article, based on an ethnographic study, examines the role of food in the social interaction of 11-to-17-year-old youths in sports centres in Denmark. The sports centres serve as a free space where young people receive no adult supervision. This i s underlined by their understanding and use of food in this environment. Food serves as a medium that introduces occasions for getting together. The article analyses the social significance and symbolic meaning of food in children's and adolescents' peer culture. As everywhere in social life, rules of food choice and eating signal the meaning of social relations and social contexts.

U2 - 10.1177/0907568209104402

DO - 10.1177/0907568209104402

M3 - Journal article

SN - 0907-5682

VL - 16

SP - 213

EP - 228

JO - Childhood

JF - Childhood

IS - 2

ER -