Food N’ Sex

This is a great piece from Mary Eberstadt at the Hoover Institution’s Policy Review.

It’s a longish one, probably best-suited for a post-dinner glass of wine and a laptop in the living room. Brief summary, however: Eberstadt explores the shifting moral values of the West as they are related to the realms of food and sex. She posits that there has been a reversal between the two. In the 50’s food was a laissez-faire thing (can anyone say Meat Cook Book?) while attitudes on sex were enforced with a relatively strict society. Today, in contrast, sex has become anything-goes, while food is full of self-righteousness and sanctimony.

It reminded me of Dan Savage’s Skipping Toward Gomorrah (a fascinating read, btw), where he was able to find groups that celebrated every one of the Seven Deadly Sins. 6 were quite easy, but finding a group that celebrated Gluttony proved nearly impossible. The closest he approximated was “fat acceptance” groups, which aren’t exactly the same as pro-gluttony, but did the trick for Savage’s purposes.

Furthermore, the only time one hears the word “sinful” being used in modern society is where? That’s right: eating. Al Gore forbid you call a co-worker’s tryst with the secretary a foible, but go right ahead and whip up that batch of freshly made Absolutely Sinful Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies.

Like I said: fascinating stuff.