Food. For some it
is just a necessity to stay alive, for some it is a source of happiness, and
for some, particularly internet users, it is a method of constructing identity.
 |
| Retrieved from: https://www.finedininglovers.com/stories/food-photography-tips-mobile/ |
Food makes up a
huge portion of Tumblr. There are blogs with masses of followers dedicated
purely to pictures of food and recipes. Even I, who doesn’t follow any food
blogs, cannot escape seeing a tutorial of how to make French toast with poached
pear and raspberry coulis on my dashboard. However, according to Victoria
Kuttainen (2015), “food is not just food”. “…[Foodways] often represent an
important expression of our identity, both as individuals and in reference to a
broader ethnic, class or religious grouping” and this concept is particularly
relevant to Tumblr (Atkins et al., 2001, p.273). In my previous posts, I mentioned
the wide variety of cultures displayed on Tumblr, and food is a significant
medium through which people express their culture. Peter Atkins and Ian Bowler
(2001) state that “some characteristic ethnic foods may be a source of shame as
much as of pride” however on Tumblr, where multiculturalism is celebrated,
people are rarely shamed for their culture’s food (p.274).
In fact, there are
instances where the Tumblr community has shown overwhelming support for a
culture or religion’s practices involving food. I refer specifically to
Ramadan, which is when Muslims all over the world fast from dawn to dusk for
one month. Out of consideration for Muslim users, it has become common practice
for other users to ‘tag’ posts concerning food, which then allows those
undertaking Ramadan to block the tag so they won’t see the posts. The amazing
thing is that it isn’t a rule that the administrators enforce, but one that the
users created and undertake themselves purely out of respect for Muslims and
Islamic faith.
The promotion and
sharing of cuisine unique to certain cultures allows for Tumblr users to take
pride in their identity and makes the website a warm and accepting place to be.
Reference List
Atkins, P., & Bowler, I. (2001). Chapter 21: The origins of taste.
In R. Radojicic (Ed.). Food
in society:
Economy, culture, geography (pp. 272-295). London, Great Britain:
Arnold.
Kuttainen, V. (2015) BA1002: Our space: Networks, narratives and
the making of place,
Lecture 8: Food Networks. [Powerpoint
Slides]. Retrieved from
http://www.learnjcu.jcu.edu.au
I find your argument about food and identity compelling. As the Week 8 lecture describe, ethnicity was a food way that shared cultural recipes regardless of whether the ingredients are obtainable and I agree that Tumblr would be a great place to showcase the evidence of this occurring (Kuttainen, 2015). Atkins and Bowler (2001) discuss food as an expression of identity and I think that your idea of respect for cultural identity on social media as an unspoken rule is truly endearing. Have you thought about the negative effects that can occur on social media due to annoyance of food related posts?
ReplyDeleteReferences:
Kuttainen, V. (2015). BA1002: Food Network, week 8 notes. [Powerpoint slides]. Retrieved from www.learnjcu.jcu.edu.au
Atkins, P., & Bowler, I. (2001). Food In Society: Economy, Culture, Geography. New York, USA: Oxford University Press Inc.
I completely agree food does tend to help as agree on our identify. Since Tumblr is such a diverse community the many food tastes create a vibrant community. It also shows how many different people can bond over certain foods, as their are whole blogs dedicated to just showing how to make and cook food. Tumblr creates an identify of many different cultures all sharing their experience means combining it to create whole new recipes and identifies. Perhaps if more shows were to take this approach to creating a food sharing network like Tumblr does there would be more new and exciting recipes to try.
ReplyDelete