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I've been thinking about why I found this site so very unhelpful and realized that this is because of the implied body-positivity of this SE.

This should be made more explicit to improve user experience, in my humble opinion.

I can't speak for everyone, but personally, I am very much not into body-positivity. I believe that people should strive to be healthy and fit.

In my opinion, cooking-related advice is meaningless unless nutrition and long-term health consequences are considered. Otherwise, I'd probably eat cookies and (real) ice cream all day, while drinking dessert wines every evening. Any food can be made tastier by putting more sugar and fat into it, which is what the food industry is doing, hence the current obesity epidemic.

Anyway, I don't expect to convince body-positive people that they are wrong. However, body-positivity is not something that everyone who finds this site believes in.

So why doesn't this site include some kind of prominent disclaimer saying that it's body-positive, and that advice given here explicitly ignores long-term health consequences (This is currently buried somewhere under food-safety tag info)?

In summary, this site is body-positive, but I'm not. I don't belong here. I can see that now, but if this site had a disclaimer, this would have saved me a ton of time.

Here's a disclaimer that I propose:

We support body-positivity

It should be shown in a way that CANNOT be missed.

I just think this site needs to acknowledge what it is.

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  • Just a reminder: as described here “On posts tagged feature-request, voting indicates agreement or disagreement with the proposed change rather than just the quality or usefulness of the post itself.”
    – Stephie Mod
    Nov 13, 2019 at 9:06
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    I totally disagree with the idea that "any food can be made tastier by putting more sugar and fat into it....". Taste is subjective and everyone has their own likes and dislikes.
    – Cindy
    Nov 13, 2019 at 18:46
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    For the record: while we have taken this question in good faith and attempted to answer it directly, some of the content of the question is bordering on what's acceptable under the code of conduct (cooking.stackexchange.com/conduct). It is absolutely, completely fine for everyone to have their own views on what is healthy and right for them to eat, and it is not our place to lecture others on the topic. This question does not literally do that, but there are implications I'm not completely comfortable with. So, everyone, please exercise care and respect in continuing this discussion.
    – Cascabel Mod
    Nov 13, 2019 at 18:54
  • The purpose of tags is to collect similar/related questions. Here on meta, the common thread for questions like this is really just that they're about what is and isn't in scope for the site, so I've added that tag. There's never going to be many questions about body-positivity, and additionally the way on which you're using the term here does not quite match common definitions, so I've removed that tag.
    – Cascabel Mod
    Nov 14, 2019 at 5:34
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    -1 because of the manipulative language of the question; body-positivity has nothing to do with this site, which is about cooking techniques and not health/fitness advice. We're here to help others with cooking issues; health issues should be discussed with your doctor or nutritionist.
    – Luciano
    Nov 14, 2019 at 13:15
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    You've received plenty of guidance at this point. Please remember that while we'll always start by assuming a good faith effort to have a constructive discussion, we do not have to continue making that assumption in spite of evidence to the contrary, and not all behaviors will be tolerated. (See also: the code of conduct.)
    – Cascabel Mod
    Nov 14, 2019 at 15:43

2 Answers 2

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This site is not about asking what we should and shouldn't eat, and it's certainly not about telling people what they should and shouldn't eat.

It's about, once you know something about what you want to make and eat, how to make that happen.

Want to make full-fat, full-sugar ice cream? Great! Ask away.

Want to steam vegetables? Great! Ask away.

Want to modify a recipe to reduce fat or sugar? Great! Ask away.

All of these things are equally welcome. This site takes no stance on what people should or shouldn't eat, and certainly not on how they should or shouldn't regard their own bodies. Individuals make those decisions outside of the site, and we just answer the cooking questions they choose to ask.

I'd also like to emphasize something to other users reading this: you are welcome here. You should not be judged for your choices of what to cook and eat, or for anything you might somehow reveal about your body. This site does not explicitly, actively advocate for body positivity (we're just a cooking site!), but we do have a code of conduct that requires users to be respectful to each other. So, ask helpful questions, write helpful answers, and if anything comes up, flag it and we moderators will have a look.

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    @MaxB Knock it off. That last comment isn't even attempting communication, it's simply combative. I'm late to the conversation here, but what I am seeing now is one user seeing their own opinion as so superior to the opinions of others, that they feel the need to get snide. There is no need for that.
    – Jolenealaska Mod
    Nov 14, 2019 at 15:26
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Body positivity? I am afraid that you under- and overestimate this site and its users.

Underestimate in the sense that we will always and without exception strive to be as welcoming and positive as we can - for each and every user that contributes positively to the site and the community. This stance isn’t about body positivity, this is way more. If you want a disclaimer, please see the Code of Conduct.

We don’t question the specific reasons for any food choices - both positive (using more of something) and negative (avoiding something) - an asker may have and we will treat specific information (“I am cooking for vegetarians”, “My father in law hates garlic”, “I am allergic to nuts”, “I don’t eat sugar”) as simple background information limiting the scope of the possible answers. When we ask for clarification, we’re trying to understand what exactly the asker means, e.g. their definition for the term “sugar”.

So if you’re following a specific diet for any reason, we will simply accept that. We will assume that you made an informed choice and that’s it. For the technical aspects of cooking, which is our focus, these reasons are utterly irrelevant.

But you overestimate what this site does. We treat cooking as a craft, a science and an art. But we are not nutritionists, medical doctors or similar. This community has in the past agreed to stay clear from health advice, the reasoning is detailed in various Meta Q/As. We don’t hide this information, it clearly states on the What topics can I ask about here page in the Help Center as off-topic:

  • General health and diet issue (e.g. "Is cauliflower healthy?")
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  • Comments are not for extended discussion; this conversation has been moved to chat.
    – Stephie Mod
    Nov 14, 2019 at 9:34
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    If you are participating in an SE site, you do so within the scope, rules and boundaries discussed and decided on by the community. One of these decisions here on Seasoned Advice says we will not deal with long-term health topics. If you disagree, raise a Meta discussion (or post an answer to the existing Q/As explaining your suggestion), let the community decide. Change of scope is possible and happens, if you gain enough support from within the site’s user base. Until then, the community decision stands and is to be respected. By all users. You, me, anyone.
    – Stephie Mod
    Nov 14, 2019 at 10:29

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