An article in the current issue of Harper’s Magazine draws provocative parallels between cable TV cooking shows and pornographic movies.
In “Debbie Does Salad” author Frederick Kaufman compares shows on the popular Food Network with adult films, guided by veteran erotic photographer Barbara Nitke.
“Like sex porn, gastroporn addresses the most basic human needs and functions, idealizing and degrading them at the same time,” Kaufman writes.
In order to explore “the histories of porn and gastroporn” together, he and Nitke watched porn tapes alongside Food Network programs in Nitke’s Manhattan apartment.
Looking at a closeup of a split raw chicken breast on the Tyler Florence show, Nitke says, “That is the quintessential pussy shot. The color of it, the texture of it, the camera lingering lovingly over it.”
Nitke calls Florence, the host of Food 911, the equivalent of “the pizza man” character of classic stag films. She compares the hyped-up delivery of super-chef Emeril Lagasse (“Oh yeah, babe!”) to that of old-school porn stud George Payne, a favorite of hers.
Also coming under scrutiny is the appeal of eye candy cooks like Food Network stars Rachel Ray and Giada De Laurentiis.
The article is a far more lighthearted context for Nitke than the one that’s put her in the news recently, as co-plaintiff with the National Sexual Freedom Coalition (NCSF) in a challenge to the Communications Decency Act (CDA). The widely watched case is under appeal to the Supreme Court.
The October issue of Harper’s is on the stands now. Nitke told AVN.com that it will eventually appear on the Clippings page of her Website, www.barbaranitke.com.
