WRITTEN TASK 1

ENGLISH A – LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE HIGHER LEVEL

SESSION – MAY 2020

PART - 1

TEXT TYPE – OPINION COLUMN

TOPIC – LANGUAGE AND GENDER

WORD COUNT

RATIONALE - 230

TASK - 863
Rationale -

This is a part 1 written task focusing on language and gender . It would revolve around a

journalist writing and expressing concerns in an opinion column directed towards the gender

inequality in the professional kitchen industry . This would target the current male dominant

situation in the kitchen and the main reason that such inequalities still exist .This opinion column

will develop on the shadowed truth and the hypermasculine side of Gordon Ramsay and his

impact on the acceptance of women in the professional kitchen . I have been watching Gordon

Ramsay’s show Kitchen Nightmares and I noticed him making subtle sexist comments like ‘Man

up’ , also recently I had read several articles describing his sexist nature . This made me want to

write an opinion column which would help me write in a bold yet in an effective manner and also

will allow me to target towards a wider audience which makes a bolder impact on the readers .

Opinion column will allow me to have a strong introspective tone and voice by putting out the

facts and evidences in short which would give it credibility thereby embedding the perspectives

quickly . The learning outcomes met are , analyze how the audiences and purpose affect the

structure and contexts of texts and demonstrate an awareness of how language and meaning

are shaped by culture and context .

WORD COUNT - 230

Gender Inequality in the Professional Cooking

Industry .

Are professional kitchen not places of gender equality?

Sexism Factoids –

1 ) In the US ,78.4% of the chefs are men and most of the head cooks are men even

when the culinary school attendance ratio is nearly 1:1 .

2 ) Women make 28300 $ annually approximately whereas men make 34,500 $

annually in this business .

3 ) Only 3 out of the 25 highest paid chefs are women .

4 ) Time’s Gods of Food showed no female chefs .

5 ) In the United Kingdom , only 17 % of the women hold chef position .

The Surprising Feminism

of Gordon Ramsay

Premise of the Accusations

Gordon Ramsay, a celebrity chef, known not only for his brutally honest cooking

and ruthless showmanship, is always in the eye of the storm. Be it appropriating

cultural notions from the Far East , giving hard-hitting comments on reality shows

like ‘Man up’ to indiscriminate use of expletives like ‘Fu*king Assh*le’ he has

made a name for himself with his bold style and aggressiveness .

Accused of Perpetually showcasing characters in the shows like Kitchen Nightmare

and Hotel Hell as pathological liars to gain appreciation for his work .

This opinion column addresses the sexist behavior portrayed by Gordon Ramsay

over the years by his oppressive behavior and condescending tone towards

women . However in the last decade he started supporting women and embraced

the change of women’s role in the kitchen as head chefs , but in that process he still

didn’t let go of his biased perspectives towards gender .

Gordon Ramsay is shown as the ideal head chef of a kitchen and is represented how society

expects certain attributes of head chefs like being arrogant , aggressive and the most important

of all a man . A man who is capable of fitting in a testosterone charged surroundings and

environment . Gordon Ramsay has shown his hostility towards women who have wished to take

up the responsibility of being in the professional kitchen as a head chef instead of being a

waitress which is what their role in the professional kitchen is expected to be in the eyes of the

society . His comments towards women in the late 1990’s and the early 2000’s like “I don’t like

employing female chefs because they work 3 weeks a month” and “How can someone shout at

a four month pregnant women” implies that women are not capable of working under high

pressure situations unlike men . This shows male dominance as a requirement and masculinity

as a fundamental mindset . It is very common of managers and the owners to verbally abuse

the chefs for not having physical and mental strength to take the heat during the critical periods

and hence it is perceived that this is the reason women are unaccepted as chefs because they

are incapable of embracing the insults and criticism . Gordon Ramsay even asserted that

women entering the industry has been selling themselves short and stated that women who

enter the industry only want to make pastries because they are easy to make and more girly .

Gordon Ramsay produces and hosts many shows like Hotel hell and Kitchen Nightmares where
he makes critical remarks like “Man up” and “Man to Man” to show chefs and owners the manly

aggressiveness they should possess . Being an influential individual who plays a very important

role in uplifting talent and showing directions to the newcomers in this field , such comments

may have a huge negative impact affecting the perceptions of this field in the eyes of the

women .

His actions and choice of diction show the difference between constructive and destructive

criticism . His aggressiveness has only led to intimidation and counter productiveness and as a

result has only caused male toxicity . Empowerment of women in this industry is hardly existent

and therefore needs to be taken seriously .

However in the recent past he has been considerate and open-minded about the fact that

women are as efficient as men in the industry . To show his support towards women , he made

the winners of kitchen’s hell and MasterChef as head chefs in his restaurants and he made sure

that the women are being respected and earn the same position by mentoring them . Angela

Hartnett was an aspiring head chef who was mentored by Gordon Ramsay and won the

Michelin star and got the confidence to open her own restaurant . Also with Gordon Ramsay

helping his daughters become better chefs , his own perception about the nature of the job will

change .

Gordon Ramsay’s recent commitment towards bringing gender equality by placing at least 50 %

women at managerial and other crucial position in the Gordon Ramsay Group shows some form

of feminism and equality which explicitly makes it look convincing . Such attitudes from a

celebrity chef will help women show their skills and abilities that they possess in the area of

cooking and managing . Such changes will remove the misconception of women being inferior

to men making the workplace efficient .

WORD COUNT - 863

Bibliography

Alexandra, Rae. “The Surprising Feminism of Gordon Ramsay's TV Kitchens.” KQED, 30 Jan.

2019, www.kqed.org/pop/108032/the-surprising-feminism-of-gordon-ramsays-tv-kitchens.

Agg, Jen. “Sexism in the Kitchen.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 19 Oct. 2015,

www.nytimes.com/2015/10/20/opinion/sexism-in-the-kitchen.html.

“Gordon Ramsay Eats His Own Words.” The Telegraph, Telegraph Media Group, 20 Jan. 2008,

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1576029/Gordon-Ramsay-eats-his-own-words.html.

Lott-Lavigna, Ruby. “Why the Restaurant Industry Is Done with Angry Chefs.” Vice, 18 Apr.

2018, www.vice.com/en_uk/article/a3yq88/why-the-restaurant-industry-is-done-with-angry-

chefs.