Author: Stephen R. Christ

Publisher:

Published: 2015

Total Pages: 120

ISBN-13:

This dissertation analyzes the social worlds of the Mexican restaurant industry. First, the topic of organizational constructions and presentations of authenticity is investigated. In examining the relation between discourses of business (profit) and aesthetics (authenticity) in Mexican restaurant contexts in which authenticity is a major theme, this study demonstrates the processes of negotiation and policing which form the “authentic” experience for patrons of restaurants. By analyzing food, from its production to its consumption in Mexican restaurant organizational contexts, this dissertation investigates the dialectic relationship linking explicitly ethnic foods and an American consumer base which desires a real, genuine, or “authentic” meal. The second major theme explored in this dissertation is the subjective dimension of authenticity among Mexican immigrant men working in the Mexican restaurant industry. In many restaurants across the United States, Mexican immigrant labor satisfies the high demand for low skilled service industry workers. The research explores the gendered niche of male Mexican restaurant cooks and servers. Traditionally marked as women’s work, restaurant food preparation and serving is almost exclusively a male dominated niche of the labor force. Based on data gathered in the field, this project introduces the concept of gender posturing and homosocial behaviors as a means of developing a pragmatic understanding of the many ways male restaurant workers define, perform, negotiate, and police the boundaries of acceptable forms of masculinity while simultaneously performing traditional feminine work in a socially constructed workplace in which masculinity is of premium importance. The third major theme of this project blends discussions of organizational and subjective dimensions of authenticity as it explores the basis and negative impacts of stereotypes on ethnic restaurant profitability. An examination of the institutional bias ethnic restaurant owners and workers perceive and experience during regular county health inspections demonstrates the influence of public discourse on the marking of ethnic restaurants. Based on data suggesting most ethnic restaurants are commonly perceived as “dirty” or “unclean” by predominantly White community members and health inspectors, this project concludes that as a result of these perceptions, ethnic restaurants are more likely to receive health code violations than generic “American” restaurants. In order to accomplish a comprehensive investigation of the matter, this study incorporates quantitative analysis of public health violation data for Ten Missouri counties, as well as ethnographic data from participant observations in ethnic restaurants. Special emphasis is placed on the structural construction of racially and ethnically themed restaurants as being dangerous and dirty, and the economic consequences for restaurant owners who must deal with the legal and economic issues resulting from their bias health inspection results.