Pet peeve of mine: the phrase “Food Porn.”

First off, let’s take a look at the definition of “pornography” —

por•nog•ra•phy |pôrˈnägrəfē| noun printed or visual material containing the explicit description or display of sexual organs or activity, intended to stimulate erotic rather than aesthetic or emotional feelings.

The irony being that Food Porn is supposed to be aesthetic. But is it really? My theory is that Food Porn’s true essence is the same as real pornography’s — it’s all about the masturbation.

The phrase “Food Porn” is the reduction of food and cooking from their true importance to the equivalent to porn’s sad objectifications.

You always see descriptive phrases like “mouth watering” and “delicious” and “gorgeous looking” attached to Food Porn posts, much like the titillating blurbs on the DVD box or website signup form. Shouldn’t the food stand on its own?

Why is it in Food Porn imagery you never see people actually enjoying the food? You know, eating it?

• Flickr: Food Porn
• Technorati: Food Porn