Nigella Lawson Calls Her Book an 'Important Feminist Tract'

Speaking at the Hay Festival in Wales, British cookbook author Nigella Lawson declared her cookbook How to Be a Domestic Goddess "a very important feminist tract." Which is quite a step beyond merely rejecting criticism of her "knowing and coquettish" tone, as she did when the book first came out.

Lawson's reasoning is that the book celebrates the traditionally feminine art of home baking, and that "there's something intrinsically misogynistic about decrying a tradition because it has always been female."

It also has to do with controlling the food supply: last Fall, Lawson told Eater, "For me cooking is an act of independence. I don't feel entirely comfortable handing over the means of sustenance and survival to someone else. It's empowering." Empowerment through cupcakes!

Lagusta Yearwood for the Guardian agrees, and imagines a world in which "Women CEOs would no longer be 'women CEOs' and if one of those women CEOs brought in an elaborate home-baked confection for an office party, her power and respect at the office wouldn't somehow diminish." Any world which involves both women in power and more free elaborate baked goods certainly sounds pretty good.

· Baking Is Feminist, Says Nigella [Daily Mail]
· Nigella Lawson Is Right. Baking Is a Feminist Act [Guardian]
· All Nigella Lawson Coverage on Eater [-E-]