Drippy sexy cheesy #FoodPorn tweets. We’ve all read & managed to digest them, then enjoyed the seemingly unstoppable locomotion of mince blaze a trail around pop-ups everywhere, fuelled by testosterone tweeting and hoards of meat mad consumers. Brands almost became parodies of themselves and then did, with a competitive edge to who could produce the sauciest strapline in 140 characters with accompanying Instagram of succulent, juicy pieces of meat.
An easy transition to make then one would assume, between one piece of meat and another.
Who’s going to mind if over-excitable burger boys substitute the food they actually cook for some random girls in various stages of undress, arousal and well, pain & distress, if the last image is anything to go by? Well, me. I mind. I don’t like it. Don’t like it in my Twitter feed, don’t like it in my social media, don’t like it in my face. As it were.
What on earth makes anyone think that these sort of images, dug up from the tragic 70’s when the objectification of women was a valid promotional method, enhances their brand? The sort of lads who are a wickle bit sad that Nuts has folded, that’s who. Lads who still snigger when someone mentions the word Tits. Pretty girls will always be used to sell stuff, as will pretty boys, but for me, these in particular are unnecessary, deliberately porn-led steps in the wrong direction.
Having worked in the building industry for 18yrs I’m no prude when it comes light hearted banter, everyday sexism and letting things slide when things don’t *really* matter but come on. Really, foodie people? Really?
Having spoken to a few other female food lovers I know, the general consensus is one of distaste. The feeling that our relationship with food should be about sensuality not sexuality. This quote from Lucy at Grab Your Spoon made me nod and smile:
“Personally I want to eat my food, not make love to it. If enjoying dinner with my lover leads onto that, great but I don’t want simulated sex with a banana on my timeline”
I really don’t like it. Anything which further objectifies women, especially young ones doesn’t get my vote, more so when it seems to suggest a passive relationship that exists to titillate one party not provide mutual enjoyment. This isn’t the feast scene in Tom Jones, where you get two adults enjoying food as a prelude to other activity. These photos are not about the food.
Food should be and IS sensual, it is something that engages all of our senses – taste, smell, sight, touch and even hearing – the lovely sound of the pop of a cork or the crunch of a baguette crust for example BUT and it is a big BUT sensual does not equate to porn. I really dislike the juxtaposition of food and porn that’s becoming fashionable and I’m not comfortable with the terms foodporn or gastroporn.