by Zoë Pollock
Matt Yglesias started this thread off:
I know it’s just a turn of phrase, but I think the whole conceptual framework of “guilty pleasures” speaks to some weird underlying puritanical elements in American life. Despite the whole “life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness” thing in the Declaration of Independence, our public culture is very resistant to the idea that people should try to spend more time doing things they enjoy or that producing enjoyment for others is a good thing to do in life.
Zolltan chalks it up to peer pressure:
The concept of “guilty pleasures” in music has nothing to do with the puritanical background of America. Because musical “guilty pleasures” – as opposed to say “guilty pleasures” in food – aren’t about guilt at all – they’re about shame. … [I]f you’re listening to “a guilty pleasure” and you just finished listening to it, you don’t feel bad at all – you feel great! The bad part comes when someone sees you listening to “Umbrella” or “Dragostea din tei” or whatever and makes fun of you.
Amanda Marcotte draws an important distinction:
The classifications of "indulgent" or a "guilty pleasure" or even just "bad taste" are often influenced strongly by certain prejudices. In some cases, it's just blatant racist or sexist or classist prejudice. But I've also noticed that some music gets classified as less tasteful because it's music that provokes one's more "animalistic" desires to dance and party and fuck, instead [of], I don't know, sit around drinking coffee and thinking deep thoughts.
Lindsay Beyerstein's take:
"Guilty pleasures" are things people like but can't justify liking. The concept of a guilty pleasure only makes sense if you try to live by an aesthetic code in the first place. If you just like whatever you like, for any reason, or no reason–you don't have guilty pleasures. If you can admit that you like a song just because it was playing while you lost your virginity, the concept of a "guilty pleasure" is irrelevant for you. A lot of people who aspire to have good taste won't admit that they sometimes like songs for "irrelevant" reasons. It's human nature to enjoy music that you associate with other pleasures.
Alyssa expounded on how the concept of guilty pleasures applies to food.
The Dish 