麻豆约拍

Whether you’re over chocolate or still gorging on Easter eggs, it’s likely you have a relationship with the sweet stuff. But where did the idea that women are addicted to chocolate actually come from? How did chocolate come to be a luxury? And how is it linked to slavery, imperialism and exploitation?

Woman’s Hour has explored the topic of women and chocolate from all angles for a special Easter Monday programme and here are some of the surprising things we learned...

1. It’s a myth that women like chocolate more than men

“There is no evidence that women like chocolate more than men,” says Dr Catherine Jansson-Boyd, Reader in Consumer Psychology at Anglia Ruskin University. “Research has recently found that it's much more likely to be social influence. We're bombarded with information that women should like chocolate more, and that it’s particularly good when you’re pre-menstrual. But there is no real foundation for it.”

“Chocolate had been enjoyed for thousands of years - as a medicine, as a ceremonial drink and also as an energy drink,” adds Sue Quinn author of Cocoa: An exploration of chocolate. “It was given to soldiers going off to battle and fed to women who were in childbirth to sustain them through labour. When the Spanish invaded, they didn't know what to make of it. They were suspicious of it and the people who made the chocolate drinks and administered it as medicine, which was women. So you started to see these negative stories emerge about women and their relationship with chocolate.”

2. Chocolate was suspected of causing insanity in women

“In the 18th century doctors blamed chocolate for outbreaks of hysteria,” Sue Quinn told Woman’s Hour. “One famous account, written by an English clergyman, talks about a group of Spanish women in Chiapas who were so addicted to chocolate that they ignored an order by the Bishop to stop drinking it during mass.

“He was saying that these women were prepared to risk excommunication and hellfire, such was their addiction and ruthless pursuit of chocolate. So you've got that idea that women were basically addicted to it.”

3. 68% of the cocoa farming workforce are women

“We’re so used to seeing women as being part of the advertising of cocoa and chocolate, and being seen as consumers,” says Emma Robertson, Senior Lecturer in History at La Trobe University. “But we don't often think of them as really important to the production; both the farming of cocoa, and then through to the chocolate factories, where they often make up half the labour force.”

“I think there’s this perception that it's a very male dominated form of agriculture. That women are more likely to be doing things like scooping beans out of cocoa pods and men will be doing more of the harvesting. But when you speak to some of the women about the kinds of things that they are doing, they are spraying crops, weeding, all kinds of things.”

4. Women cocoa farmers still earn less than men

“Women earn less than men for doing more of the work,” says Dr. Nyagoy Nyong’o, the CEO of Fairtrade. “Those who earn, earn as little as 23p per day which is well below the poverty line of £1.40 and five times less than what men earn.

“As consumers, when you buy that bar of chocolate it's important to see whether it has that Fairtrade label. We care about cushioning farmers from the volatility of the market. So we have our Fairtrade Minimum Price and Fairtrade Premium. But also, our programmes that are there to empower some of the most vulnerable women in West Africa.”

5. Chocolate was once a product of slavery

The more Emma Robertson studied the chocolate industry, the more aware she became that it's “embedded in the Imperial story”.

“The British chocolate industry was dependent on raw materials coming from the British Empire from the colonies of British West Africa and Nigeria and Ghana,” Emma told Woman’s Hour.

“Even in the early 20th century, there was a scandal where British chocolate manufacturers were buying cocoa on the open market, which had been produced in Portuguese West Africa. It was called ‘indentured labour’ but for all intents and purposes, it was a form of slavery.”

6. Dark chocolate does not have health benefits

“Dark Chocolate is healthier because it contains less sugar. It's also richer, so you don't eat as much of it,” says Sue Quinn. “Cocoa is a complex ingredient that contains all sorts of fantastic healthful compounds. There's evidence that some of these compounds can potentially reduce blood pressure and the risk of heart attack.

“But the research has been done in concentrated amounts, not in your favourite chocolate. The scientist I spoke to when researching my book said very clearly that you would have to eat a gargantuan amount of dark chocolate to consume enough of these compounds to have any health benefits. However, I'm firmly of the belief that eating something that you really enjoy is good for body and soul. It’s not a health food, but I think we can all enjoy dark chocolate.”

For lots more on chocolate, listen to our special Easter Monday programme with Andrea Catherwood available on 麻豆约拍 Sounds shortly after broadcast at 10.00. You can also catch up on any episodes you’ve missed while you're there, and you can follow us on and on @bbcwomanshour.