Food porn 2.0? Definitions, challenges, and potentials of an elusive concept

Abstract

ABSTRACT Food porn emerged in the 1970s as an academic concept and has since become integrated into everyday social media use. The aim of this article is to analyse the concept of food porn through a critical discussion of the existing literature in cultural and media studies focusing on the definitions of food porn, its uses as an analytical and theoretical lens to explore food aesthetics, and its current relevance. The authors show that the definitions and interpretations vary a great deal and argue that three overarching themes dominate the literature: 1) formal aesthetics; 2) gender, body, and sexuality; 3) excess and transgression. Finally, it is argued that future uses of the concept should either focus on a) an empirically founded approach focusing on the actual use of the concept; or b) a theoretically founded approach with a formal typology focusing on hierarchies and power dynamics.