Just A Happy Housewife? Michelle Obama, Food Activism and (African-)American Womanhood

This chapter explores how Michelle Obama has presented her political activity within the realm of food and nutrition to the American public. It focuses on how this activity has been sold by constant domestication of both Michelle Obama herself as well as her political motives and motivations; a feat achieved primarily by adhering to certain conventions of gender and gendered rhetoric. The chapter seeks to expand on the scholarly attention to the intersection of First Ladyship, political food activism, gender and race by asking questions about how Michelle Obama as a First Lady herself negotiates this intersection and what implications this might have. It also focuses on how food and nutrition can against the odds be a legitimate political arena for an African-American First Lady when strategically interwoven with appropriate gender performances. Indeed, it is clear that Michelle’s food activism that provided her with an arena for continuous self-definition as a First Lady, a mother and an American citizen.