Abstract
If the casserole is missionary style, food porn takes its devotees into the foodie Kama Sutra. It glistens. It drips. It uses props. It is both lusty and intimate. For those who partake, it is an obsession. But just what is ‘food porn’ anyway? Here it is, not for the faint of heart: everything you’ve ever wanted to know about food porn but were afraid to ask. Or at least a few things of interest on the subject of food porn as a cultural object, situated within the twin forces of conspicuous consumption online and food as an art form in the age of digital reproduction. In the pursuit of analysing the visual aesthetic of food porn, this essay discusses everything from the pornographic gaze to the latent sensuality of food and the sexual symbolism of food presentation (Figure 13.1).
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Benjamin, W. (1968) The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction, in H. Zohn (ed.) Illuminations. New York: Schocken Books, pp. 217–252.
Bourdieu, P. (1984) Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgment of Taste. R. Nice, Trans. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Cockburn, A. (1987) Gastro-Porn, in Corruptions of Empire. New York: Verso, pp. 119–127.
Gigandet, S. (2012) The Big List of Food Blogs. Retrieved from: http://verygoodrecipes.com/food-blogs (accessed on 10/11/14).
Griswold, W. (1994) Cultures and Societies in a Changing World. Thousand Oaks: Pine Forge Press.
Kaufman, F. (2005) Debbie Does Salad: The Food Network at the Frontiers of Pornography. Harpers, 1865: 55.
Magee, R.M. (2007) Food Puritanism and Food Pornography: The Gourmet Semiotics of Martha and Nigella. Americana: The Journal ofAmerican Popular Culture (1900–Present), 6(2). Retrieved from: http://www.americanpopularculture.com/journal/articles/fall_2007/magee.htm. January 15, 2015.
McBride, A.E. (2010) Food Porn. Gastronomica: The Journal of Food and Culture, 10 (1): 38–46.
Morabito, G. (2010) Grant Achatz to Food Bloggers: Stop Taking Photos, Your Food’s Getting Cold. Retrieved from http://www.eater.com/2010/3/29/6738863/grant-achatz-to-food-bloggers-stop-taking-photos-your-foods-getting.
Mulvey, L. (1975) Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema. Screen, 16 (3): 6–18.
O’Neill, M. (2003) Food Porn. Columbia Journalism Review, 42 (3): 38–45.
Rodriguez, C. (2014, 10 March 2014 ) Food Porn: Are You Ready to Take a Stand? Forbes. Retrieved from: http://www.forbes.com/sites/ceciliarodriguez/2014/03/10/food-porn-are-you-ready-to-take-a-stand/. January 15, 2015.
Ulla, G. (2012) Blinded by the Light: Chefs on Photography in Restaurants. Retrieved from http://www.eater.com/2012/5/23/6584087/blinded-by-thelight-chefs-on-photography-in-restaurants.
Veblen, T. ([1899] 1912) The Theory of the Leisure Class: An Economic Study of Institutions. New York: The MacMillan Company.
Verhoeven, P. (Director). (1992). Basic Instinct [motion picture]. USA: Carolco Pictures.
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 2016 Erin Metz McDonnell
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
McDonnell, E.M. (2016). Food Porn: The Conspicuous Consumption of Food in the Age of Digital Reproduction. In: Bradley, P. (eds) Food, Media and Contemporary Culture. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137463234_14
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137463234_14
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-56102-5
Online ISBN: 978-1-137-46323-4
eBook Packages: Literature, Cultural and Media StudiesLiterature, Cultural and Media Studies (R0)