i wish binge eaters were given the same empathy and compassion anorexic people are shown, most people i’ve met who struggle with BED eat low quality/cheap foods and feel a deep sense of guilt for every relapse.
oh... to answer question four, i certainly hear a lot of unpleasant language surrounding food and weight when i'm with my "straight-sized" friends. when we're eating at a restaurant, someone might be teased for finishing their food completely. or someone will call themselves a "big back" (or similar remarks) for finishing food themselves. recently, i did a group painting project of a dragon. in the sketching stages, my groupmates would remark that the dragon looks "too fat" when it was drawn a bit larger than was planned. one time someone drew a line too thin and it was joked that it was "on ozempic". just, things like that. often. it makes me uncomfortable to hear and i wonder what they think *i* think. like, do they think about how it would make me feel? bluh... but still i don't say anything to them. :/
I never watched mukbangs, but I appreciate the original intent in South Korea behind making that kind of content to help people with loneliness. Of course, like anything, we as a civilization can't help but take such a decent idea and turn it into a wild online trend, a reason to hate on visible minorities, and a way to turn a profit in increasingly absurd ways.
I'm someone who may have inherited a bit of a gut from my family line, but I don't see fat as inherently ugly. I think there is a legitimate question about health and physical fitness, but there is literally no one size fits all solution to those topics. One person's "skinny" is another person's "emaciated," and one person's "fat" is another person's "unhealthy and overweight."
I have to believe that there's a balanced way between body sizes, diet, and exercise that doesn't have to play into certain preexisting beauty standards, but into overall personal happiness. And, yes, we could stand to do a lot more about that structurally with where we locate grocery stores, how walkable our cities are, and how processed our food turns out.
I used to love watching mukbangs during my uni days. it helped me feel less lonely + less shame around eating. however, because I struggled with binge eating, I noticed I was consuming these videos more and more.
watching others eat large portions fueled my desire to eat + I found myself thinking about food a lot more. I don’t watch mukbangs anymore. looking forward to your video 🩷
Full disclaimer: I don’t watch mukbang content and I don’t plan to. Nothing personal against it , I’m just not a fan of watching people eat 😭.
It sounds like mukbangs have been a source of entertainment that has helped many including yourself overcome feelings of isolation or despair, so I understand it has a real purpose beyond what I thought was gluttonous behavior. Additionally, I was recently educated on the origins of mukbangs and that has helped to positively change my perception on something I used to believe was a strange phenomenon.
Like you said, this is a nuanced topic. It’s bittersweet really. On the one hand I understand turning to social media (sounds like it was YT in the early days) for comfort and social connection through food, but on the other hand how dystopian is it that so many people are SO lonely they turn to one sided connections? Undoubtedly food tastes better in the company of others, people you can actually have a conversation with. However mukbangs don’t do that. They’re one sided (and comments or responses to creators questions don’t count)!
Also, hasn’t a large majority of mukbangs become fetish content? That alone is a huge turnoff for someone who isn’t familiar with its intended purpose. Finally, the fat shamming isn’t cool but seemed like the inevitable conclusion as the usage of terms like “big back” are on the rise. Can’t wait to see your take on this conversation.
I've watched mukbangs because they help me feel satisfied sometimes. (Not ED related.)
1. When I've been broke, and have had an unsatisfying meal, watching a mukbang sometimes made me feel a little bit more satisfied. With a good mic, it feels like I'm the one eating.
2. Even when not broke, sometimes I don't have access to the food I see in a mukbang. So I like to hop in, watch/listen and either decide I'd like to buy/cook it one day, or choose to be satisfied with what I watched.
i wish binge eaters were given the same empathy and compassion anorexic people are shown, most people i’ve met who struggle with BED eat low quality/cheap foods and feel a deep sense of guilt for every relapse.
as somebody who transitioned from anorexia to bulimia and later on to full on BED, i understand this sentiment at a visceral level
twin but i had a bulimia phase in hs free lunch lol
oh... to answer question four, i certainly hear a lot of unpleasant language surrounding food and weight when i'm with my "straight-sized" friends. when we're eating at a restaurant, someone might be teased for finishing their food completely. or someone will call themselves a "big back" (or similar remarks) for finishing food themselves. recently, i did a group painting project of a dragon. in the sketching stages, my groupmates would remark that the dragon looks "too fat" when it was drawn a bit larger than was planned. one time someone drew a line too thin and it was joked that it was "on ozempic". just, things like that. often. it makes me uncomfortable to hear and i wonder what they think *i* think. like, do they think about how it would make me feel? bluh... but still i don't say anything to them. :/
I never watched mukbangs, but I appreciate the original intent in South Korea behind making that kind of content to help people with loneliness. Of course, like anything, we as a civilization can't help but take such a decent idea and turn it into a wild online trend, a reason to hate on visible minorities, and a way to turn a profit in increasingly absurd ways.
I'm someone who may have inherited a bit of a gut from my family line, but I don't see fat as inherently ugly. I think there is a legitimate question about health and physical fitness, but there is literally no one size fits all solution to those topics. One person's "skinny" is another person's "emaciated," and one person's "fat" is another person's "unhealthy and overweight."
I have to believe that there's a balanced way between body sizes, diet, and exercise that doesn't have to play into certain preexisting beauty standards, but into overall personal happiness. And, yes, we could stand to do a lot more about that structurally with where we locate grocery stores, how walkable our cities are, and how processed our food turns out.
I used to love watching mukbangs during my uni days. it helped me feel less lonely + less shame around eating. however, because I struggled with binge eating, I noticed I was consuming these videos more and more.
watching others eat large portions fueled my desire to eat + I found myself thinking about food a lot more. I don’t watch mukbangs anymore. looking forward to your video 🩷
Full disclaimer: I don’t watch mukbang content and I don’t plan to. Nothing personal against it , I’m just not a fan of watching people eat 😭.
It sounds like mukbangs have been a source of entertainment that has helped many including yourself overcome feelings of isolation or despair, so I understand it has a real purpose beyond what I thought was gluttonous behavior. Additionally, I was recently educated on the origins of mukbangs and that has helped to positively change my perception on something I used to believe was a strange phenomenon.
Like you said, this is a nuanced topic. It’s bittersweet really. On the one hand I understand turning to social media (sounds like it was YT in the early days) for comfort and social connection through food, but on the other hand how dystopian is it that so many people are SO lonely they turn to one sided connections? Undoubtedly food tastes better in the company of others, people you can actually have a conversation with. However mukbangs don’t do that. They’re one sided (and comments or responses to creators questions don’t count)!
Also, hasn’t a large majority of mukbangs become fetish content? That alone is a huge turnoff for someone who isn’t familiar with its intended purpose. Finally, the fat shamming isn’t cool but seemed like the inevitable conclusion as the usage of terms like “big back” are on the rise. Can’t wait to see your take on this conversation.
I've watched mukbangs because they help me feel satisfied sometimes. (Not ED related.)
1. When I've been broke, and have had an unsatisfying meal, watching a mukbang sometimes made me feel a little bit more satisfied. With a good mic, it feels like I'm the one eating.
2. Even when not broke, sometimes I don't have access to the food I see in a mukbang. So I like to hop in, watch/listen and either decide I'd like to buy/cook it one day, or choose to be satisfied with what I watched.