Looking languidly at the camera, bare-chested and greasy, we almost forget the apricot tart resting on the countertop. In his videos, Cédrik Lorenzen prepares elaborate desserts for his approximately 4.7 million subscribers. The mimed sexual acts, such as spanking or even fingering, in these stagings are enough to shock, if not challenge. Thirst trap videos are a subcategory of thirst traps. Often produced almost exclusively by men and with sexually explicit content, intended to excite the public.
These videos are inspired by pornographic codes, in a more subtle way, mainly to escape the radar of the platform’s moderation. But also because it takes up a popular code of seduction, that of suggestion. Let’s just imply something sexual so as not to make it vulgar. Here, male influencers capitalizing on these new trends spark the imagination by performing clearly sexual acts with the food they prepare. Between strange white coulis dripping onto bananas or the pushes given to food processors by TheDonutDaddy, another “thirst trap” influencer and his 480,000 subscribers, the trend raises questions.
The illustration of the double standard
For Nora Bouazzouni, journalist and author of Hunger. When sexism comes into play (edited by Nouriturfu, 2017), “Since men are doing it, it’s sexy, because obviously we live in a patriarchal society”. According to her, this type of video perfectly illustrates what the double standard is:
“A man takes over the home kitchen, sexualizes it, it’s beautiful. He will never be insulted for this, on the contrary. If she were a woman, we would insult her and say she is stupid. »
Nora Bouazzouni
Men would be using a privilege here: that of being able, on the one hand, to undress on the Internet without being harassed (or to see their video deleted directly from the platform). And on the other hand, get paid through this advertising. Cédrik Lorenzen agrees with this opinion: “
“It’s not hard to imagine that if a woman cooked with the same bold and assertive style as me, often associated with qualities such as sex and masculinity, she would likely encounter a barrage of misogynistic and sexist comments. »
Cedrick Lorenzen
Perhaps this is why there is no female content by Cédrik Lorenzen appearing on the internet.
While there are some rare sexualized food-related videos of women available on TikTok, they are not focused on this goal and do not practice the act of cooking. They directly consume food explicitly and are not naked. Because women’s torsos are largely sexualized than men’s, TikTok’s policy on female nudity is stricter. In 2021, 14% of the platform’s videos were deleted due to “nudity, sexually explicit content and pornography”. While Cédrik Lorenzen’s naked torso breaks viewing records, sometimes reaching up to 10 million views. Millions who pay and above all act as a perfect commercial showcase.
Read also: The “Ritual Rage” on TikTok: these women who pay $4,000 screaming in a forest
A commercial strategy reserved for men?
Josiane Jouët, professor emerita of sociology at the French Press Institute, analyzes it in two phases. “These images are interesting, both because they continue to upset the codes, cooking can be practiced by a man at home, it can seduce a woman through taste. But at the same time their way of presenting themselves remains that of great chefs. » A great chef is what Cédrik dreams of becoming. Since then, her sensual scenes on TikTok and Instagram have earned her a large audience for her work. The man, in addition to having the privilege of being able to undress without being insulted, without his videos being deleted, gets the opportunity to monetize his TikTok contents. Here shirtless and sexually explicit content are not synonymous with immodesty, but with commercial showcase and social and professional success.
These men (they are growing in number) transform this domestic task into something more socially elevated, in particular by preparing elaborate dishes. A way to ennoble a task that is anything but praised when it is carried out by a woman. Nora Bouazzouni reacts:
“These are phenomena where we see men taking on an unpaid domestic task, which is traditionally reserved for women and for this we appreciate them! »
Nora Bouazzouni
So noble that it needs a new name: thirst-eating trap. “I wonder why we always have to rename a very banal activity when it is a man who practices it? », you ask. It is a trend that is part of a collective and social strategy, which however is not as recent as one might think. From the 1990s and early 2000s, advertisements presented cooking practiced by men in an already sexualized way. Josiane Jouët reminds us: “Advertising first on TV and then on social media is very interesting because it evolves over time. We see men cooking more and more and this sells more and more. »
The “thirst trap” trend illustrates male privilege. That of being able to undress on the internet without risking being harassed, insulted or even attacked but also that of capitalizing thanks to a task considered non-monetary or even thankless if it is carried out by a woman.
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Source: Madmoizelle
Mary Crossley is an author at “The Fashion Vibes”. She is a seasoned journalist who is dedicated to delivering the latest news to her readers. With a keen sense of what’s important, Mary covers a wide range of topics, from politics to lifestyle and everything in between.
