Neatly aligned glass spice jars tagged with printed white labels. Wicker baskets filled with packages of pasta, crackers and snacks. Rows of flavoured seltzer water stacked in double-decker plastic bins.
In today’s consumer culture, “a place for everything and everything in its place” isn’t just a mantra; it’s big business. As someone who studies digital consumer culture, I’ve noticed an uptick in glamourised, stylised and fully stocked pantries on TikTok and Instagram, giving rise to a content genre I dub “pantry porn.” These online shrines say a lot about our cultural moment - simultaneously raising awareness of the unpaid and long-unseen labour that makes households work and also creating new unrealistic expectations that perpetuate classist, racist and sexist divisions.
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