This morning I was reading a blog and the author was talking about food porn--
"There's all this music and close ups of cutting and fingers wiping off knives, and it's not for any real reason - it's not to show a technique or anything, it's just to get you all hyped up, if y'know what I mean..."
--And I started to think about food porn and also real porn. My impression, from the few people I know who openly talk about their porn-watching habits, is that it seems to actually result in having less "real" sex with others, significant or otherwise (granted my sample pool is limited). However, I just asked Paul, and he gave me an example of someone who has (and displays in his home) a fair amount of porn, AND has a lot of sex. Paul points out that it depends on whether the porn is just a supplement to your lifestyle, or a substitute for a lifestyle.
But what I was really getting to is that I was wondering about food porn and eating habits. I've never read or seen anyone commenting on what food shows do in terms of j our appetites. Do we eat more? or less? do we aspire to eat better food?
I continued to think about this when a friend came over for "TV night" and we watched an old episode of Iron Chef and the most recent Top Chef. I enjoy seeing and hearing about all the pretty food, but it rarely makes me want to run to McDonalds or the nearest French restaurant. But I might be a bad test subject, as, even though I like to eat, I have always had voyeuristic tendencies in the food realm. When I was in hospital in Melbourne and couldn't eat for a week, Paul used to go to restaurants and eat exotic cuisine, then come back and recite menu items and their descriptions. it was oddly comforting, and I don't recall feeling sad I couldn't actually eat the food. Granted, I had a few other things on my mind, like wanting to not die.
And, as with the porn, I just asked Paul how his food network viewing affects him, and he says it does make him want to eat. But he notes that he already had a "food-centric world view." He's definitely someone for whom anything food related would simply be a supplement to an already established lifestyle. He notes that food shows make him want, in particular, better food and different food, that the food he sees has an aspirational quality.
Whereas I look and think "interesting, avocado puree, but you know what, just this plain avocado is pretty darn good."
Does this reveal too much about my attitudes toward sex?
I think people are either food-focused or not, i.e. "live to eat" vs. "eat to live." There are distinct and very real disadvantages to focusing on food, like weight gain, etc. But there are very real advantages, too, such as an increased enjoyment of meals, higher variety of foods eaten/prepared, wider knowledge of techniques to improve preparation/presentation, etc.
ReplyDeleteI also think the parallels to a sex-focused life are very strong. Either you are or you aren't and either stance comes with advantages and disadvantages. I think over-doing either is dangerous. But why be alive if we don't have a little danger in our lives?