“Your food / X food smells weird, is gross, tastes funny, etc.”
When someone makes offensive comments around a type of food, they are sharing an unconscious belief that certain foods are inferior because of the ethnicity of the people who make and consume that food.
Why is this racist?
These types of remarks perpetuate harmful stereotypes and contribute to the discrimination and marginalization of entire cultures. How we view cuisines usually relates to how we view cultures.
Food can be used as a means for discriminating and ostracizing against racialized groups. When someone makes offensive comments around a type of food, they are sharing an unconscious belief that certain foods are inferior because of the ethnicity of the people who make and consume that food. This statement insinuates that someone’s cultural or ethnic background makes their cuisine unappetizing or inferior.
Media can also perpetuate these racial stereotypes too. TV Shows such as “Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmerman” or the “Spill your Guts” segment on the Late Late Show with James Corden portrays certain foods as gross, bizarre or disgusting. Many of these dishes are food from non-white countries and are often associated with marginalized groups. These may be foods that are staples, popular or specialty dishes in different countries, but is presented negatively to Western audiences.
Everyone has different preferences when it comes to food. Scent perception varies from person to person and what may be deemed unappetizing by one individual can be mouthwatering for another. The statement, in reference to food of a certain ethnic group, is racist because it undermines the rich cultural heritage behind each dish by reducing its complexity to just its appearance and smell. The subjective nature of taste and smell also makes it challenging to assert whether food smells or looks good or bad objectively.
Some studies report that exposure to different cultures and cuisines can make one more tolerant.
Ultimately, it’s not cool to “yuck someone’s yum” and because food is so closely linked to identity, disparaging it can absolutely come across as a racist statement.
Additional Resources related to this Statement
- Represent Asian Project – The lunchbox dilemma recalls the fear of bringing smelly Asian food to school
- Anti-Racism Daily – End the lunchbox moment
- CBC Gem – Lunchbox Dilemma
- The lunchbox dilemma
- Mel Magazine – The racial dynamics of smelly food
- ABC News – Is our dislike of smelly food actually cultural intolerance?
- Today’s Parent – How a stinky school lunch incident led to discussing race with my kid
- BBC News – Why is food such a sensitive subject?