By Brad Pullan & STF Staff
Food Porn
I really don’t like the phrase ‘food porn’: Why?
If you haven’t already I’m sure you have seen someone share a delicious looking picture from a ‘food porn’ social media page. There are countless other pages like this (e.g. Earth Porn) but this article will specifically focus on ‘food porn’. There are two main reasons why I believe sharing a picture, or even liking a picture, from ‘food porn’ isn’t okay.
Degradation Of What Is Actually Good
The art of cooking food is simply beautiful. It takes years and countless hours to master the art of cooking food. The art of cooking, especially when making for more than a few people, is a team effort. It is also a bonding time with friends and family. I have roommates who I look to cook with, and not only do we make food but it is our time to talk, laugh, and enjoy each other’s company. Food can also be an incredible service and gift to others around you. Food is also a source of cultural pride, and there are numerous stories over thousands of years where food has brought peace and people together.
Using the word ‘porn’, however, negates the art which cooking can be. It is like passing on a beautifully prepared steak or prime rib, and filling up on candies, which are unhealthy and eventually destroy your teeth. Porn is the erosion of beauty. The only “team” involved in creating pornography are the performers, who are often drugged, raped, trampled on, and the producers, who target insecure teenagers on Instagram and 8-9 year olds on kids websites. Porn is an isolating experience which actually weakens your relationships with family, friends, and significant others. Instead of bringing cultures and people together, porn is an incredibly racist and sexist ‘art’, full of disgusting stereotypes which are detrimental when projected onto society.
Normalization
What also troubles me about ‘food porn’ is how the idea of ‘porn’ is casually normalized as just something bringing pleasure to the eyes.
It is unacceptable that this is normalized when:
- Most mainstream porn contains sexually violent behavior against women.
- Watching violent porn, leads viewers to think that violent sex is normal.
- After viewing porn, even if it is non-violent, men’s attitudes towards and view of women change.
- The porn industry is saturated with drugs, violence and rape.
- The pornography industry uses many victims of sex trafficking.
- Porn actually contributes to or increases other psychological problems in users.
Strength to Fight Challenge: Don’t share or like any photos from a ‘food porn’ page or any other page that adds porn to the end of their page title.
Instead of watching porn today (food related or otherwise), cook some food you have never made before, and invite someone over to try it with you.
The usage of the word ‘Food Porn’ is not okay.
It normalizes a word that should not be normalized and it’s degrading to the art of food which actually brings people together.
Don’t share or like ‘food porn’. Go make some food, love people, hate porn.