Scholarly record
CULTURAL PERCEPTIONS OF FOOD PORN: BETWEEN GLOBAL DEMOCRATIZATION AND MORAL RESISTANCE
Abstract
The study investigates young Romanians' perception of the international trend known as food porn, based on the hypothesis that, in a predominantly Christian Orthodox cultural context, the term is rejected or avoided, despite intense exposure to digital content of this type. While in socio-economically developed and culturally open countries, the term “food porn” has undergone a process of democratization and normalization, becoming a natural part of visual culture and consumer behaviour, in Romania it continues to be perceived as problematic. Thus, this metaphorical concept, food porn, is frequently rejected or avoided, reflecting the persistence of a different cultural and moral framework. The present research analysed the extent to which young Romanians, although digital natives and active consumers of the visual gastronomic phenomenon, accept or reject the concept. It also attempted to formulate socio-cultural explanations that may underlie their perceptions and decisions regarding the concept of food porn. The sample consisted of 71 students, and the methodology was quantitative, using a questionnaire that also included a projective test. The results confirm the hypotheses: participants frequently watch content associated with food porn, but their association with the term is negative and the content is not distributed when it is explicitly labelled as food porn. The international trend, although recognized as real by young Romanians, is thus filtered and adapted to the Romanian context, where cultural and religious norms generate a significant rejection of the direct association between food and pornographic imagery.
Publication Impact Profile
Publication details
References10
Schonig J., The Pornification of Everything: Food Porn, Nature Porn, and the Aesthetic Foundations of the Porn Suffix, M/C Journal, Australia, vol. 27, issue 4, 2024, DOI: 10.5204/mcj.3081.
Güler O., Simsek N., Akdag G., Gündogdu S. O., Akçay S. Z., Understanding consumers’ emotional responses towards extreme foodporn contents in social media: Case of whole oven baked camel, International Journal of Gastronomy and Food Science, Netherlands, vol. 35, 2024, p. 100868, DOI: 10.1016/j.ijgfs.2024.100868.
McBride A. E., Food porn, Gastronomica, USA, vol. 10, issue 1, pp. 38–46, 2010, DOI: 10.1525/gfc.2010.10.1.38.
Spence C., Okajima K., Cheok A. D., Petit O., Michel C., Eating with our eyes: From visual hunger to digital satiation, Brain and Cognition, USA, vol. 110, pp. 53–63, 2016, DOI: 10.1016/j.bandc.2015.08.006.
Cavazza N., Graziani A. R., Guidetti M., Impression formation via #foodporn: Effects of posting gender-stereotyped food pictures on Instagram profiles, Appetite, UK, vol. 147, 2020, p. 104565, DOI: 10.1016/j.appet.2019.104565.
Versace F., Frank D. W., Stevens E. M., Deweese M. M., Guindani M., Schembre S. M., The reality of “food porn”: Larger brain responses to food-related cues than to erotic images predict cue-induced eating, Psychophysiology, USA, vol. 56, issue 4, 2019, e13309, DOI: 10.1111/psyp.13309.
Abril E. P., Tyson K., Morefield K., SnapChat this, Instagram that: The interplay of motives and privacy affordances in college students’ sharing of food porn, Telematics and Informatics, UK, vol. 74,[12022, p. 101889, DOI: 10.1016/j.tele.2022.101889.
Cismaru L., Iunius R., Bridging the generational gap in the hospitality industry: Reverse mentoring - An innovative talent management practice for present and future generations of employees, Sustainability, Switzerland, vol. 12, issue 1, 2019, p. 263, DOI: 10.3390/su12010263.
CNEWA, The Orthodox Church of Romania, Online resource, USA, n.d., Available: https://cnewa.org/eastern-christian-churches/orthodox-church/the-autocephalous-churches/the-orthodox-church-of-romania/
Blue Europe, Romania and Internet Connectivity - Factors of Success, Online publication, Belgium, 2023, Available: https://www.blue-europe.eu/ro/analiza-si-cercetare/analiza-scurta/romania-si-conectivitatea-la-internet-factori-de-succes/
View or Download full articleAccess options
SWS access login
Login as SWS Scientific CommitteeLogin as SWS Scientific PartnerLogin as SWS AuthorAuthors and approved SWS contributors will read and export their own linked papers after identity matching by SWS profile, email and SGEM GlobalID.
For librarian assistance: [email protected]
Purchase Instant Access
- Article can be downloaded after successful payment.
- Article may be used according to SWS library access terms.
- Article cannot be redistributed.