Guilty pleasure

For other uses, see Guilty pleasure (disambiguation).

Not to be confused with Schadenfreude.

Fresh cream cakes were marketed as "naughty but nice" in a 1980s British advertising campaign.

A guilty pleasure is something, such as an activity or a piece of media, that one enjoys despite understanding that it is not generally held in high regard or is seen as unusual. For example, a person may secretly enjoy a film while acknowledging that the film is poorly made or generally regarded unfavorably.

The term can also be used to refer to a taste for foods that are considered to be advisable to avoid, especially for health reasons. ^{[2] [3]} For example, coffee, alcoholic beverages, smoking and chocolate after dinner are considered by many to be guilty pleasures. ^[4]

History

George Orwell, in his essay "Rudyard Kipling" (1942), describes the poetry of Kipling as a "almost a shameful pleasure". ^[5]

See also

• Guilt
• Peer pressure
• Shame

References

1. Retail Business: Market reports. EIU. 1988. p. 48.
2. Fisher, Maryanne (May 14, 2010). "Why It's Good to Feel Guilty". Psychology Today . Retrieved January 19, 2016.
3. Szalai, Jennifer (December 9, 2013). "Against 'Guilty Pleasure'". The New Yorker . Retrieved January 19, 2016.
4. Santos, Roseane M.; Santos, Roseane M.; Lima, Darcy R. (October 8, 2009). An Unashamed Defense of Coffee. Xlibris. ISBN   978-1-4535-3424-3.
5. Orwell, George (2000). Essays. London: Penguin Books. p. 213. ISBN   978-0-141-18306-0.