The sexualisation of mukbangs
How have we gone from making people feel less lonely, to deep-throating a burrito?
This week, I watched a video of a girl eating two Tacobell burritos, in such a manner that I felt so incredibly uncomfortable, I had to stop watching.
For days, my TikTok algorithm has been trying to get me invested in American mukbanger, Jelly Bean Sweets and much to my regret, I finally gave in.
If you’re not familiar with concept of a mukbang, it’s an online video concept that started in Korea. Where people essentially film themselves eating a lot of food in one sitting.
A lot of mukbangs focus heavily on the ASMR content of chewing and slurping, others use it as an excuse to have a casual, sit-down chat with their audience and some just focus on the sheer volume of food consumed.
As someone who is permanently online, I’ve come across many a mukbang, but it’s not content I find interesting to watch. What I’ve come to understand from people who do love watching, however, is that it’s either calming, provides company for people who are lonely (especially those who eat alone) or helps those struggling with their own issues around eating.
One of the most famous Mukbangers is Nikocado Avocado, who started making mukbang videos over 7 years ago.
Naturally, eating excessive quantities of food regularly, caused Nik to gain a considerable amount of weight. In addition to that, he really leant into this over the top Internet persona.
His videos went from, ‘Stir Fried Noodles Mukbang’ to ‘Eating my Weight in Taco Bell’ and he goaded the people commenting on his weight by doing things like eating 6 pizzas whilst wearing his sleep apnoea mask.
Nik has been absent from social media for a fair few months, but before his disappearance, his content appeared to be getting more and more fetish-like.
How else do you explain eating McDonalds off the floor, with a mobility aid, in your pants. Not to mention that Nik does have an Only Fans…
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Nik’s social media absence has put a spotlight on Jelly Bean Sweets, who, like Nik, has gone from pretty inoffensive food eating videos, to what TikTok viewers feel is ‘feeder content’.
This is what led me to her viral, 17.3 million viewed Tacobell mukbang, which, really has to be seen to be believed.
In the video, JBS (for short) stacks these two burritos together and then proceeds to pour three pots of sauce over them.
If you’re wearing headphones, I’m sorry for what you’re about to hear…
As someone pointed out, the way the sauce drips all over her fingers, and around her mouth, feels very intentional. This isn’t the calm, comforting mukbang that people would sit and eat along with and stands out even more when you compare it to her previous, friendly, chatty content.
Obviously, JBS hasn’t commented on any of the ‘feeder’ content rumours, but, in my opinion, it’s easy to see how people are falling into these situations.
TikTok truly is the app that gave everyone a platform, but with that comes a responsibility that most people simply don’t have in their twenties.
The pressure for your content to continually go viral and increase your earnings, means previous boundaries, quickly get wiped away. Let alone if people are sliding into your DMs, offering you a month’s wages for particular content requests.
It’s like that infamous Logan Paul, Japanese suicide forest video. Where he lost sight of ethics (if he ever had any in the first place) in his pursuit of virality.
These Mukbangers are making more and more extreme eating videos, because even if it’s not what the majority of your audience want, the controversy boosts their view count.
Like I said, I don’t watch mukbangs, but I still found that burrito video. Along with over 17 million other people.
My main concern for someone like Jelly Bean is how this impacts her offline. Yes, the food isn’t healthy, but neither is reading thousands of hate comments a day. Not to mention these videos will be online forever, effecting future job prospects and relationships.
Of course though, there are other dangers that come with pushing mukbangs to their limits.
24-year-old Pan Xiaoting from China died last month on a live stream, mid-mukbang. Her autopsy revealed her stomach was so full with undigested food that it’s thought it burst.
It makes me wonder if these excessive mukbangs need to come with a warning or age restriction. Although, I don’t know how that would work and I’d be concerned it would only demonise larger bodies eating on camera.
I just know I don’t ever want to come across a sexualised burrito video like that, again.
Honestly, it’s really making me rethink why everyone was obsessed with pickles all those months ago…
I get that not everything on the internet is for me but mukbangs are one of those things that I have purposefully avoided for a long time- everything from the name, to the idea that anyone would CHOOSE to hear someone slurping and munching, to how I just know the comments on fat people doing it vs a slim person will be wiiiildly different, it all gives me the massive ick! And that’s before it even gets sexual.